Ron Sider Column Archives

RON

The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience My friend Graham Cyster, an evangelical church leader in South Africa during the struggle against apartheid, was once smuggled into an underground Communist cell. “Tell us about the gospel of Jesus Christ,” they said. So Graham talked about the way reconciliation with God leads to a reconciled body of Christ where there is neither Jew nor Greek, black nor white. When he’d finished, a 17-year-old boy who had been listening intently said, “That is wonderful. Show me where I can see that happening.”

My friend’s face fell. He admitted sadly that he did not know of any good example in South Africa.“Then the whole thing is a piece of f—kin’ shit,” the young man yelled.Within a month the youth left the country to join the military wing of the anti-apartheid movement.

That experience led Graham to resolve never again to preach what he was not trying to live.

One of the greatest scandals today —at least as devastating as the “scandal of the evangelical mind” bemoaned by Wheaton College historian Mark Noll —is that vast numbers of evangelicals do not practice what they preach.The polling data is clear.“Gallup and Barna hand us survey after survey,” evangelical theologian Michael Horton says,“demonstrating that evangelical Christians are as likely to embrace lifestyles every bit as hedonistic, materialistic, self-centered, and sexually immoral as the world in general.” One wonders if the central evangelical belief —in a new birth through personal faith in Christ who sends the Holy Spirit to

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transform us into the very image of Christ—is in reality a farce, a fraud, or a false promise.

George Gallup, Jr., speaks of an “ethics gap—the difference between the way people think of themselves and the way they actually are.” The following statistics—taken from recent polls by Barna, Gallup, Green, Ronsvalles, and Smith— are disturbing: • Only 8 percent of those who identified themselves as “born-again” Christians tithe—that is, give 10 percent of their earnings to the work of the church/charity (Barna, 1999).

• The more money Christians make, the less likely they are to tithe: 89 percent of those making less than $20,000 a year tithe, while 4 percent of those making $40,000-$59,999 tithe, and only 1 percent of those making $75,000$99,999 tithe (Barna, 1999).

• General giving of Christians to their churches declined as a percentage of income from 3.14 percent in 1968 to 2.48 percent in 1994.And evangelical giving, which had been dramatically greater than that of other Christians, crept closer and closer to the average (Ronsvalles).

• In the early 1990s when the average church member gave $20 a year for global outreach (evangelism and social ministry), the average American church member spent $164 in soft drinks and over $1,000 on recreation—while over one billion people tried to survive on $1 a day (Ronsvalles).

• 77 percent of evangelicals say that volunteering in local community organizations is “very important,” but only 32 percent actually volunteer “a lot” (Smith).

• The percentage of “bor n-again” Christians who have experienced divorce is higher than that of nonChristians: 26 percent vs. 22 percent (Barna, 1999).

• 25 percent of “born-again” Christians have lived with a member of the PRISM 2004

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opposite sex without getting married (Barna, 2001).

• Born-again adults spend 700% more time per week watching television than participating in an activity such as prayer, Bible reading, and worship (Barna, 2000).

• Evangelicals are more likely than Catholics or mainline Christians to object to having an African-American neighbor (Gallup, 1989).

• 26 percent of the “high-commitment” evangelicals and 46 percent of the “lower-commitment” evangelicals think pre-marital sex is acceptable (Green, 2001).

• 13 percent of “high-commitment” evangelicals even think it is acceptable for married persons to have extramarital sex (Green, 2001).

Whether the issue is marriage and sexuality or money and care for the poor, evangelicals today are living scandalously unbiblical lives. Large numbers of evangelicals live in flat contradiction to biblical norms. Our lifestyles contradict our theology and undermine our witness.

Think of the witness we would have for Christ if virtually every time that non-Christians met evangelicals they discovered joyful people in committed marriages, leaders in overcoming racism, and generous partners in empowering the poor.

Instead we have been seduced by society’s individualistic, adulterous, materialistic values. We have neglected our fundamental belief that a living personal relationship with Jesus Christ produces marvelous, lifelong conversion.What an irony that just when evangelicals are loudly supporting governmental faith-based initiatives (based on the assumption that spiritual faith can transform broken people), the polling data suggest that in many crucial areas evangelicals are not living any differently from their unbelieving neighbors.

Continued on page 33.

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Heard was a talented musician who possessed the vocal lilt of James Taylor and wrote lyrics that deeply probe the mysteries of the human condition, and the author presents him positioned on the periphery of the Christian music industry, someone who intuitively knew that his gifts deserved a wider hearing yet was unwilling to make the compromises necessary to obtain acceptance.

Heard’s father refused to allow his son to sign a mainstream recording deal with Columbia Records back in 1972, feeling that the then 20-year-old should continue his education rather than launch out into the murky waters of a music career.

Despite his father’s protestations, the young artist eventually signed record deals in the contemporary Christian recording industry with Larry Norman of Solid Rock Records in the mid-’70s and Chris Christian of Home Sweet Home Records in the ’80s. But neither of these were particularly fruitful relationships.The interplay between artists and proprietors of intellectual property has always been strained, each of them feeling they bring more to the table than the other. And while in time Mark Heard gained understanding of the “game,” it disillusioned him, and he ultimately refused to play on the terms that were offered him.

Dickerson should be praised for not following in the footsteps of those biographers of Christian artists (like those who have written about Keith Green, for example) who opt for hagiography rather than deal with the complex realities of their subject. Heard is portrayed as a deeply contemplative artist overtly contemptuous of anything superficial.

Friends wonder aloud whether they were really liked or how such a softspoken man could sometimes be so brusque with them.The author wrestles with Heard’s decision to sidestep regular church attendance, preferring instead the embrace of a loose gathering of likeminded musicians.

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But as much as I enjoyed this book, I craved a more cohesive and topical (or at least chronological) approach, one that would tease out the obvious themes that emerge from Heard’s catalogue of music and would support them with a sound biographical sketch. Regardless, this is a good first foray into the life of an important artist whose musical legacy will be

discovered again and again by thirsty spiritual pilgrims, uncovering water in the parched desert of a banal Christian subculture. ■ David Di Sabatino is the editor of The Jesus People Movement: An Annotated Bibliography and General Resource (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999).

Postcards continued from page 26. ations of leaders, incorporating interns from other ministries, churches, and theological schools, and moving people into key leadership positions who have demonstrated Christ-like servanthood in “the little things” (Luke 16:10a).

Finally,“long-haul” churches understand that it is often necessary to go after root causes rather simply treat symptoms.

Churches that not only survive but also thrive for longer periods find it’s important (and biblically mandated) to go

beyond acts of mercy, charity, compassion, and relief to ministries of empowerment (both personal and communal), development (community and economic), justice (individual and system), and advocacy (being a voice for the voiceless).

What has been your congregation’s experience over the long haul? What would you add to or change on my list?

I’d love to hear from you (phil@esaonline.org) so I can better answer the question next time I’m asked. ■

Ron Sider continued from page 36.

Unfaithful evangelical lifestyles are a blatant denial of Jesus’ gospel. If the gospel were merely the forgiveness of sins, then we could accept the gospel and go on living in the same racist, adulterous, materialistic way. But if the gospel is the Good News of the Christ’s kingdom, as Jesus taught, and if part of the good news is that right now a new redeemed community of transformed persons living in the power of the Holy Spirit is breaking into history, then whenever so-called Christians live as the world does, their very lives are evidence against Jesus’ teaching.

We need to recover the biblical truth that God is blazing holiness as well as overwhelming love.We need to recover

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the biblical teaching on the egregiousness of sin and the necessity of repentance and sanctification.We need to turn away from American individualism and recover the New Testament understanding of mutual accountability.We need to bring all our people into small discipleship groups of genuine accountability so we can, as John Wesley said,“watch over one another in love.”We need to rediscover the almost totally neglected biblical teaching on church discipline.

The scandal of the evangelical conscience today mocks our evangelistic efforts and breaks the heart of our Savior.

If we will not repent and change, we should admit that the whole thing is a fraud. ■

RON

A New Evangelical Consensus on Politics?

I’m truly excited and grateful to God for what might just be a historic document that significantly shapes evangelical political engagement in the next decade.

On October 7, 2004, the Board of Directors of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) unanimously adopted “For the Health of the Nations: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility” as its official policy statement for its work on public policy. I’m hardly a neutral observer (since I co-chaired the process that produced the declaration), but I think the document is strong, biblically balanced, and potentially very significant.

The NAE is the largest association of American evangelicals. It has 30 million members in over 50 denominations in 45,000 congregations. If even a large minority of those people started lobbying and voting on the basis of this document, American politics would change.

For many years, I have been critical of a great deal of evangelical political activity. Lacking a biblical balance of concern for all that the Bible says God cares about, it has often been narrowly focused on just a couple of issues, such as abortion and family. It has largely lacked any deep conceptual foundations in a carefully constructed political philosophy like that developed for Catholics in a century of papal encyclicals.As Ed Dobson (for years Jerry Falwell’s vice president at Moral Majority) later said:The approach was “ready, fire, aim.”

I used to dream about the unlikely possibility that a group of evangelical leaders, representing everyone from Jim

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Wallis to James Dobson, would engage in a process to develop a common set of principles for political engagement—in short, the beginnings of an evangelical political philosophy. I even proposed the idea in a few speeches and a chapter in a book. But the whole idea seemed highly unlikely.

Well, it has happened!

For the last two years, Diane Knippers (president of the conservative Institute on Religion and Democracy) and I have co-chaired a process authorized by the NAE to develop just that kind of consensus document for evangelicals. Over 15 scholars wrote preparatory papers on key issues, and these will appear in March in a book edited by Knippers and myself called Toward an Evangelical Public Policy: Political Strategies for the Health of the Nation.

A drafting committee, led by David Neff (editor of Christianity Today), produced an initial draft from these papers and then revised the document many times in response to suggestions from numerous people. Now a wide range of evangelical leaders are being invited to add their signatures to the final draft approved by the NAE. A series of meetings in Washington in March, 2005, will formally launch the document and the book.

Why is “For the Health of the Nation” so potentially important? Primarily because what it says is now the official platform of 30 million evangelicals, and it says several important things that many evangelicals have not said or practiced.

I underline four here.

First, the declaration clearly—and repeatedly!—adopts what ESA folk often summarize as a “pro-poor and pro-life, pro-racial justice and pro-family” approach:“The Bible makes it clear that God cares a great deal about the wellbeing of marriage, the family, the sanctity of human life, justice for the poor, care for creation, peace, freedom, and racial justice.While individual persons and organizations are at times called by God to concentrate on one or two issues, PRISM 2005

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faithful evangelical civic engagement must champion a biblically balanced agenda.”

Second, the declaration clearly affirms the importance of transforming both individuals and institutions. Even as evangelicals became much more politically engaged in the last two decades, researchers (e.g., Chris Smith) discovered that evangelicals still continued to think that the primary way to change society was “one person at a time” through personal conversion.This declaration reaffirms the importance of personal conversion in producing social change. But it lays equal emphasis on structural change:“Christian civic engagement must seek to transform both individuals and institutions …Lasting social change requires both personal conversion and institutional renewal and reform.”

Third, the declaration clearly calls for humility and civility in our political activity and insists that our commitment to other brothers and sisters in the one body of Christ far transcends any ongoing political disagreements: “We must be clear that biblical faith is vastly larger and richer than every limited, inevitably imperfect political agenda, and that commitment to the Lordship of Christ and his one body far transcends all political commitments.”

Fourth, the declaration clearly rejects excessive nationalism: “We confess that our primary allegiance is to Christ, his kingdom, and Christ’s worldwide body of believers, not to any nation…As Christian citizens of the U.S., we must keep our eyes open to the potentially selfdestructive tendencies of our society and our government. We must also balance our natural affection for our country with a love for people of all nations.”

I could go on. But read it for yourself on the ESA (www.esa-online.org) or NAE (www.nae.org) websites.

Consider studying it in a Sunday school class or small group (Christianity Today is producing a study guide).

Continued on page 37.

WASHINGTON

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ner of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.After weeks of controversy, much of it taking place behind the scenes, Mayor Koldenhoven vetoed the city council’s decision to purchase the church.The council could not muster a large enough counter-vote to override the veto, so the mayor’s decision stood.

The controversy was never really about the town’s need for a recreation center, but about fear of Arab Muslims by a large number of town residents.

Mayor Koldenhoven said he made his decision because of his commitment to protect the Constitution’s First Amendment and because Jesus said to love your neighbor. Among the mayor’s supporters was Michael VanderWeele, professor at Trinity Christian College, who could not fathom how town residents—many of them members of the town’s more than 21 churches—could condone racism or religious discrimination.

This story of fear and courage, of hatred and love, in Palos Heights in 2000 is just one of many stories about Middle America—the American homeland— told in Homeland (Seven Stories Press, 2004), by journalist Dale Maharidge with photographs by Michael Williamson. It is a book well worth reading.

The stories the book tells illuminate American life today, divided as it is along several fault lines. Maharidge traveled the

country, stopping in small towns and rural areas off the beaten path, inquiring into remarkable incidents and the heartdeep concerns of different kinds of Americans. What he found was two distinct Americas, one in places like Silicon Valley and Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the other in small, often poor, hard-up towns.

In the story about Muslims seeking entrance to Palos Heights he concluded that the tension was not so much racial as it was religious, with roots going back as far as the medieval Christian crusades.

For many Americans, the United States is a Christian country, and the entrance of too many Muslims would mean its demise. Regardless of what President Bush or any other president does to build a Homeland Security department, many Americans in heartland and elsewhere will feel “homeland insecurity” as long as the Muslim population is growing.

But is America the kind of country that should privilege Christians and secularists over Muslims? Or should we try to build an open society that rejects religious discrimination? Koldenhoven and VanderWeele believe that Christians are called to do the latter, but it takes work and listening to one another.And that is difficult to do in times of deep need when people are losing jobs and feeling abandoned.

One of Williamson’s photos shows the abandoned Homestead steel works in Rankin, Penn.Tough, hardworking men who once made steel there helped build America and also helped to defend it by working overtime during World War II.Today other countries produce steel at lower cost; jobs have moved elsewhere; and whole towns have lost their vitality.The old spirit of the steel works survives, however, in those who produced the bumper sticker that Williamson photographed on a truck in Phoenix, Ariz. It said,“God, Guns, and Guts Made America: Let’s Keep All Three.”

Is there another way to think about God and America’s future than in terms of guns and guts? Or perhaps we should ask, is there a better way to think about protecting the freedom of citizens who have the courage (guts) to honor God and to serve their civic neighbors today?

Koldenhoven showed guts in the decision he made.Where will we take our stand in the months and years ahead on the issues that now divide America? ★

Postcards From the Road continued from page 26.

Art & Soul continued from page 28.

Ron Sider continued from page 40.

by Micah, finds its counterpart in Jesus’ Big Three (again in the form of a prosecutor’s accusation, in Matthew 23:23): “You have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness.”

May we not be found negligent, but “let justice roll down” in all of life: my life, your life, the life of the church, and in our world. ■

that feed our souls and keep us moving.

Considering the darkness our cities continue to endure, I can’t help but long for more artists like Mako, for more beauty that points us upward, and for more encounters with I AM. ■

Dr. James Skillen is president of the Center for Public Justice (www.cpjustice.org). In addition to editing the Center’s quarterly Public Justice Report (from which this column was adapted), he is the author of In Pursuit of Justice: Christian-Democratic Explorations (Rowman & Littlefield, 2004).

Most important, pray that the evangelical world will not only endorse but actually implement this declaration.

One-quarter of all U.S. voters are evangelicals. Think of the impact if half of them started lobbying and voting on the basis of this “biblically balanced agenda.”

Just a dream? Some dreams come Jo Kadlecek writes frequently on urban life and the arts. Her first novel, The Sound of true. Join me in praying that this hope My Voice, will be published this spring by becomes reality. ■ WaterBrook/Randomhouse.

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RON SIDER

One Person Can Change a Denomination Last summer my wife and I hosted a very special visitor, Rev. Philip Owasi from western Kenya. Owasi was in Philadelphia to attend the annual conference of Christians for Biblical Equality. They had given him a scholarship because his master’s thesis had persuaded his 2-million-member denomination, the Kenya Pentecostal Assemblies of God, to ordain women for the first time in its history.

After accepting Christ in 1972, Owasi became an active youth leader in his church. But his desire to go into ministry angered his father, who considered pastoring the humblest of jobs for an educated person and refused to give his son a single shilling for his theological studies.

Fortunately, Owasi was accepted at the Pentecostal Bible College in Nyong’ori, Kenya, where he graduated in 1983 with a diploma in Bible and theology.

Over the next 20 years, Owasi pastored several congregations.

From 1996-1997, Owasi studied at the Allahabad Bible Seminary in India and received a bachelor’s in theology.

His passion for education led him to apply to Wheaton College, but he lacked the funds to come to the United States.

Then, unexpectedly, in September 2000, Owasi received a scholarship to do an M.A. in theological studies in South Korea.

When Rev. Owasi traveled to South Korea, he left behind a thriving congregation of about 300 members. Earlier in his ministry, he had not understood the connection between evangelism and social ministry, but slowly he learned how to combine them. The Child

Development Center his church implemented in cooperation with Compassion International today ministers to over 250 needy children from poor families.

An amazing thing happened during his studies in South Korea. Puzzling over what topic to choose for his master’s thesis, Owasi felt drawn to the topic of women’s ordination. A Canadian professor suggested that he contact Christians for Biblical Equality in Minneapolis, and they sent him a number of good scholarly books on the topic. Initially, he confesses, “I was just like any other man in Africa who believed in patriarchal leadership in every place.” But his views began to change as he studied the Scriptures, and he grew increasingly uneasy with the fact that his own denomination trained women theologically but then refused to ordain them. Eventually, both his Scripture-searching and his soulsearching resulted in a thesis entitled “Women’s Ordination: With Special Reference to Pentecostal Assemblies of God in Kenya.”

Upon his return to Kenya in late 2002, Owasi went to his denominational headquarters, showed them his new degree, and gave the top leaders a copy of his thesis. Shocked at the title, they wanted to know why on earth he had written on this topic, since never in its history had the denomination ordained women. Owasi simply asked them to read the thesis.

The leaders studied it for two years and, miraculously, the general superintendent moved from a traditional to an egalitarian stance on gender issues. Many continued to oppose the ordination of women when the general superintendent put the issue up for discussion with the top church council. But the leader persisted and, in April 2005, for the first time in its history, the Pentecostal Assemblies of God in Kenya ordained 20 women!

In December 2004, Rev. Owasi started a new church plant with 12 people.

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In less than a year the church has grown to about 100 members. Two former Muslims have come to Christ. The congregation has an active youth department training young people to do evangelism.

The women’s department helps women serve the Lord, care for their households, and start small businesses. The church managed to raise enough money to buy two tailoring machines, with which they expect to begin making dresses and producing school uniforms for local schools. Owasi and his congregation dream of many projects in evangelism, health care, community development, and education.

But Owasi’s church has a special need that I want to share. No Pentecostal Assemblies of God church in his town has a church building anywhere large enough for their district conferences.

Owasi’s church is growing fast, and he dreams of building a church building that can seat up to 700 people. Given the rapid growth of his congregation, they will soon need a space of that size.

But Owasi’s members are not wealthy and don’t have the $85,000 needed for the building. (In fact, $46,000 would pay for the first phase of the building.)

As I listened to Owasi, I told him that I believed there were some American congregations in the ESA network who might be delighted to partner with his congregation in his building project as well as other areas of holistic ministry.

So I invite you to think and pray about the possibility that God wants your congregation to partner with this faithful, hardworking pastor (he has even found time to complete all the course work for his Ph.D.) and his congregation in Kenya.

If you are interested, write to me at ESA, 6 E. Lancaster Avenue,Wynnewood, PA 19096; rsider@eastern.edu. I will be glad to put you in direct contact with Owasi. It would be so easy for a few U.S. congregations to help that congregation realize its dreams. ■

RON SIDER

Injustice Against Women An estimate from the United Nations in 1980 stated, “Women work two-thirds of the world’s working hours, produce half of the world’s food, and yet earn only 10 percent of the world’s income and own less than 1 percent of the world’s property.” Unfortunately, we do not have nearly enough hard data to describe with precision exactly where and how much injustice against women exists today, but we do have enough information to know that blatant injustice against women is widespread.

Missing women. Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen has estimated that approximately 100 million women are missing.

The reason? A cultural preference for boys that leads to neglect of female babies and abortion of female fetuses. All things being equal, the normal gender ratio is about 105 females to every 100 males. However, after ultrasound devices to determine the sex of the fetus became available in the 1970s, the percentage of baby boys at birth jumped dramatically in countries such as China, India, and South Korea. In 1997 in China, for example, 117 male births were recorded for every 100 female births.

Unequal education. In most of the developing world, women have less access to education and are more likely to be illiterate than men. In low-income countries in 2001, 46 percent of women could not read, compared to 28 percent of men.

The youth illiteracy rates (ages 15-24) provide another measure. For low-income countries in 2001, 31 percent of female youth were illiterate, compared to 19 percent of male youth. In our global information society, where education and knowledge equal power and wealth, inequality in education means injustice.

Uequal health. Michael Todaro,

author of one of the most influential texts on economic development, says that women and children are more likely to be malnourished than men. In Latin America, 31 percent of girls are underweight while only 17 percent of boys are. In India, he notes, girls are four times as likely to suffer acute malnutrition as boys; boys are 40 times more likely than girls to be taken to the hospital when ill.

Unequal property ownership/ work. The data is far from complete, but women clearly have legal title to vastly less property than do men. In Brazil in 2000, women owned 11 percent of the land, and men owned 89 percent. In Mexico in 2003, women owned 22 percent and men 78 percent.And it is generally thought that land ownership is more equal in Latin America than in other developing areas!

The United Nations’ Human Development Report for 2005 reported that in a large majority of cases, women work more than men. On average, in urban areas, women worked 481 minutes a day and men only 453 in 2005. In rural areas, women worked 617 minutes to men’s 515.

The vast majority of developed countries reported the same pattern: 423 minutes for women and 403 for men.

Violence against women. On October 7, 2006, the prestigious British medical journal, The Lancet, published the results of a massive World Health Organization study of physical and sexual abuse of women by intimate partners.

Interviewing 24,097 women in 11 countries, they found that huge numbers of women in most countries reported experiencing physical violence at least once in their life. The following statistics are representative: 40 percent in Bangladesh; 30 percent in Brazil; 49 percent in Ethiopia; 49 percent in Peru’s cities and 61 percent in its rural areas. Astonishing numbers reported physical abuse in just the last 12 months.

Sexual trafficking/prostitution.

The U.S. Department of State estimated PRISM 2007

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(June 5, 2006) that of the 600,000 to 800,000 people trafficked across international borders every year, 80 percent are women and girls. Most of them end up in prostitution. These figures do not include the millions of girls and women that the State Department believes are trafficked within their own national borders every year.

We know enough to know that all around the world today, men inflict widespread injustice and violence on women.

This behavior stands in blatant defiance of the biblical teaching that every person, both male and female, is made in the very image of God and therefore is inestimably precious in the eyes of God. How can we men continue to violate the dignity and equality of women when we remember that our Lord and Savior died for these very women and invites each of them to accept his love and live eternally with him?

In spite of frequent, indeed widespread, failure, Christian faith over the centuries has been a powerful force creating dignity and justice for women. But the task is far from finished. It is time for Christian men around the world to say “Enough injustice and violence against our sisters!”

One man who is making a difference is Gary Haugen of the International Justice Mission (ijm.org), who works courageously to free enslaved women.And Lee Grady, editor of Charisma magazine and author of 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, focuses much of his work on empowering women in ministry (themordecaiproject.com). I pray that more Christian men will open their hearts to their sisters’ suffering and create a contemporary tidal wave that washes away all injustice against women. ■ (This is a summary of a paper Ron Sider presented on November 15, 2006, at the annual meeting of the EvangelicalTheological Society.)

RON SIDER

Needed: A Few More Scholars/ Popularizers/ Activists Church and society are often misled by people offering simplistic, one-sided answers to the big issues of their time.

They pretend to know what they are talking about, even though they lack the necessary expertise. Evangelicalism, especially, with its strong anti-intellectual strain, has often—whether one thinks of eschatology, science, family life, or politics—been badly served by popularizers and activists with simplistic ideas and superficial solutions. Nor will that change unless more people with good scholarly training become effective popularizers and successful activists.

I did not consciously set out to combine scholarship, popularizing, and activism, but that’s where my journey has led.

I spent several years of my life in intense academic study preparing to be a Renaissance/ Reformation historian and then taught only one course in that area in my entire life. When people come up and thank me for “my book,” I assume they mean the nontechnical, easy-to-read Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, not my scholarly dissertation on a 16th-century theologian.

A few years ago I wrote an article for Christian Scholar’s Review reflecting on my personal journey trying to be a scholar, popularizer, and activist. In it I said that such a road is not for everyone.

While there are a few exceptions, like Martin Marty, most people cannot attempt the level of popularizing and activism I have sought and also become a widely recognized scholar. Both church and society need more people who can success-

fully combine all three activities.

Good popularizing requires special skills: an ability to develop a broad synoptic vision; an instinct for quickly discerning the most crucial issues; a personality and mind that enjoy moving quickly from one issue to another; and the ability to write clearly and powerfully. Plato said that if the wise disdain the task of politics, then they must suffer being governed by fools. Somebody will write popularizing books. If those with scholarly training will not do it, they should not complain when those with little expertise do it badly, embarrass the church, and mislead laypeople with one-sided, simplistic nonsense.

(That is not to say that scholarly training guarantees wisdom or that lack of scholarly training entails lack of wisdom.)

I hope and pray that at least a handful in the next generation of Christian scholars will prayerfully recognize in themselves the gifts, develop the skills, and pay the price of becoming far better popularizers and more effective activists than I have managed to be.

I’m excited that Palmer Seminary at Eastern University (where I teach) and the Sider Center on Ministry and Public Policy/Evangelicals for Social Action (which I direct) are partnering to offer two new programs designed to nurture precisely such a generation of scholars/ popularizers/activists.

A new joint appointment (see the ad on page 3), to begin in the fall of 2008, is now being announced: a tenuretrack appointment for a professor of public policy and Christian ethics at Palmer Seminary and coordinator of public policy programs for ESA.This person will teach three or four courses a year at the seminary and coordinate ESA’s numerous activities in public policy. This person will be encouraged to combine good teaching and scholarship with popular writing and organizing Christians to shape public life.

We already have one such joint

appointment (Al Tizon, who is assistant professor of evangelism and holistic ministry at Palmer and also director of ESA’s Word & Deed Network), and now we will have a second.

If interested in applying for this position, write to me (rsider@eastern.edu) or Palmer’s academic dean, Dr. Elouise Renich Fraser (efraser@eastern.edu).

The second new program involves an exciting new scholarship program at Palmer Seminary (see the ad on the back cover). Palmer is offering 10 Sider Scholarships and 10 Wallis (as in Jim Wallis) Scholarships for 20082009. Each scholarship (for full-time students) covers half of tuition and is worth over $6,000 per year. Each scholar will work 10 hours a week (September through May) in a variety of ESA-related programs in public policy, holistic ministry, and popular writing (working on PRISM and the ePistle). Four of these scholars are also eligible for an Ayres or Wilberforce Scholarship worth an additional $4,000 a year (these scholars work 15 hours a week). These scholarships are renewable for two to three years. Many of these students, I hope, will go on to do doctoral studies in ethics, politics, economics, sociology, theology, etc., and then become leaders in church and society as scholars/popularizers/activists.

These scholars can enroll in the MDiv or MTS program at Palmer. The MTS program includes a concentration in Christian faith and public policy.

(Interested persons can contact Dr. Steve Hutchison, director of admissions at semadmis@eastern.edu.)

I am excited about both of these programs and intend to be an active mentor for the Sider and Wallis Scholars, and I look forward to encouraging and nurturing the new joint appointment in public policy. In both cases, I pray, God will be at work raising up younger scholars/activists/popularizers who will faithfully lead the church in the coming decades. ■

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RON SIDER

Open Letter to President Obama Congratulations. A brilliant campaign.

A mandate for change.

And, oh, yes: a nearly impossible cluster of horrendous problems.We don’t ask for miracles. And you have our prayers. But we do expect you to keep your promises.

Let’s start with poor Americans.About 36 million Americans already fall below the poverty line.The recession may push another 6 to 8 million Americans into poverty. During the campaign, you publicly embraced the goal of cutting domestic poverty in half in 10 years.

You know from your work in South Chicago that poverty devastates tens of millions of Americans. You know as a Christian that God measures societies by what they do to the people at the bottom. Measure proposals for economic recovery by what they do to the poorest.

Emphasize programs that empower the poorest 40 percent. And, early in the first year, spell out concretely how you plan to cut poverty in half in 10 years.

Morally, it is simply unacceptable for the richest nation in history to have 47 million uninsured people with no guarantee of adequate health care.We cannot wait another four years for dramatic changes. It would be immoral to solve Wall Street’s problems by postponing health care coverage for poor working families.

Within the first six months, unveil your proposals to get us to universal coverage.

Nor dare we delay the major changes needed to fundamentally reduce and change American energy consumption.

In international affairs, you have an historic opportunity, perhaps unparalleled since the end of World War II, to reshape international relations. All around the world, respect for and trust in the US is

at its lowest point in decades. An imperialistic, unilateral foreign policy simply will not work. Fortunately, your election has evoked almost everywhere astonishing levels of hope for change. Quickly strengthen that hope by moving immediately and unequivocally to end torture.

Other powerful interests will demand that you continue policies that protect and preserve America’s military dominance and economic self-interest. Many Christians, I believe, join me in urging you to embrace a genuinely multilateral foreign policy. Global economic structures must be redesigned both to incorporate the reality of growing economic powerhouses like China, India, and Brazil and also to give the poorest nations a larger voice.The patterns of international trade should be slanted, not to benefit the richest nations, but the poorest.

Please don’t wait until your last year in office to work seriously at resolving the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Early in your first year, signal unequivocally that you intend to use the full weight of American influence to lean on both sides to negotiate a permanent two-state solution that provides peace, security, and justice for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Mr. President, seize this historic opportunity to lead the world in building a new global political/economic order that is more just, free, democratic, and cooperative.

Finally, the messy issues of abortion and faith-based organizations.You have a fundamental choice to make. There is a large, secular, radical segment of the Democratic Party that is demanding that you end the hiring rights of faith-based organizations when they receive government funds and sign a “Freedom of Choice Act” which would end the freedom of doctors and hospitals that oppose abortion to act according to their conscience.

You might even have enough votes in the House and Senate to pass such partisan measures.

But the result would be disastrous.

Large numbers of Catholics and evanPRISM 2009

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gelicals (many of whom voted for you) would feel betrayed. Millions of us would vigorously oppose such changes.You would undermine your declared hope to reach across partisan lines to build a strong center. And your hopes of building a bipartisan coalition that would enable you to make substantial, far-reaching changes in areas like healthcare and energy policy would be seriously undermined.

There is a better option. In your evaluation of the whole faith-based initiative, listen to the grassroots faith-based organizations working among the poor.They will tell you that policies preventing them from hiring on the basis of their religious beliefs would fundamentally undermine their successful programs to empower broken people.Then improve the program, correct mistakes of the previous administration, increase the funding, and make sure that you protect the identity of faith-based organizations that are often succeeding in difficult circumstances where almost nothing else works.

On abortion, why not be genuinely pro-choice? That would mean retaining, not abandoning, policies that allow doctors and hospitals to follow their conscience and choose whether they want to perform abortions. It would mean not building compulsory payment for abortion into your healthcare policies. Instead of trying to force millions of Americans to violate their conscience with allegedly “pro-choice” policies that actually deny choice to tens of millions, form a strong center of people (both “pro-choice” and “pro-life” folk) who can agree on a number of concrete programs that will actually reduce the number of abortions.

Let’s work together to form a strong majority that figures out how to make abortion far less frequent.

That’s my advice, Mr. President. I know that giving advice is easy for me since I am sort of … well, a kind of “community organizer with no responsibilities.” But I do promise to pray for you regularly. n

RON SIDER

Why Did I Sign?

In November I joined a number of prominent political conservatives to endorse and promote the Manhattan Declaration at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. The focus of the declaration is on three issues: the sanctity of human life, marriage, and religious freedom. Many of the news stories have said this declaration represents the return of the “Religious Right” with its view that these three issues are the most important moral issues of our time.

So why did I speak at the press conference and urge people to sign the Manhattan Declaration? First, let me clear up some misunderstanding. The declaration does NOT say that the three issues it emphasizes are the three most important issues of our time. The declaration clearly affirms the way Christians over the centuries have worked for justice for the poor and oppressed and led the way in the battles against slavery and racism and in favor of the vote for women. It also insists that “ours is, and must be, a truly consistent ethic of love and life for all humans in all circumstances.” (That sounds to me like ESA’s “completely pro-life” agenda!)

The declaration does say that we are “especially troubled” that human life, marriage, and religious freedom are severely threatened today. While it calls all three of these “foundational principles of justice,” it does not say they are the only foundational principles of justice. If it had I could not have signed, because I think God’s special concern for the poor, the call to stewardship/care for creation, and the summons to peacemaking, for example, are also foundational principles of justice. Nothing in the declaration says otherwise. It is true, nonetheless, that I was the only spokesperson at the National Press Club who

has often been identified as a political “liberal” or “progressive.” I object to these labels, because I am clearly conservative on some political issues and clearly liberal on others.

So why was I there? First, because I believe what the declaration says on the three issues is right and important. Second, because I have always sought to build bridges. And third, because I think it helps us ESA folk win a hearing on issues like justice for the poor and creation care with political conservatives when we stand with them on issues like the sanctity of human life and marriage.

Likewise, it helps us gain credibility with liberals on abortion and marriage when we work with them on equality for women, economic justice, and climate change.

The Manhattan Declaration acknowledges that the sanctity of human life is under enormous threat by self-centered individualism. Too many women choose abortions because a baby is inconvenient.

Too many people are comfortable with sacrificing human embryos so that others may someday enjoy better health. And too many are ready to help the sick and the elderly end their lives because caring for them is expensive and difficult. I believe it is urgent that we say no to this culture of death. I also think it will be almost impossible to preserve a decent society unless we can restore the institution of marriage to much greater health.

Fifty years ago, less than five percent of our children were born out of wedlock.

Today it is more than 40 percent.

The declaration rightly confesses that Christians have contributed to the decline of marriage by easily embracing the culture of divorce and calls for repentance by Christians, and I agree that redefining marriage to include samesex unions will weaken, not strengthen, the institution of marriage.

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were unbridgeable chasms. I have tried to help Christians focused on evangelism see that other Christians emphasizing social action were partly right (and vice versa). I have tried to help white evangelicals understand African American Christians. I have tried to help Catholics, evangelicals, mainline Protestants, and Orthodox Christians understand each other—and have counted it a high privilege to play a leadership role in Christian Churches Together.

Within the last year, I worked with Jim Wallis, Michael Gerson, and others to bring together “liberal” and “conservative” Christians to find common ground on concrete programs to empower poor Americans (ThePovertyForum.org). I also recently joined in a Third Way project to bring evangelicals and secular progressives together to define some limited but substantial agreement on several issues, including abortion and homosexuality. (Click on “Come Let Us Reason Together” at ThirdWay.org.)

More evangelicals are in fact moving toward what ESA has long called a stance that is pro-life and pro-poor, pro-family and pro-peace, pro-sexual integrity and pro-creation care. That is especially clear in the National Association of Evangelicals’ consensus document, “For the Health of the Nation.”The Manhattan Declaration is more narrowly focused, but it repeatedly affirms the importance of other significant issues. Thus, in its own way, it too is a reflection of the growing number of Christians who affirm what I call a “biblically balanced agenda.”

The signers of the Manhattan Declaration represent a broad range of Christians. Prominent Catholics (two archbishops and the president of the major Orthodox seminary) joined evangelicals to speak at the press conference.

Within less than a week of its release, over 165,000 people had added their signature! I invite you to do the same (go to ESA-online.org to read the Manhattan Declaration). n

RON SIDER

Evaluating President Bush’s 2006 Budget “When the king is concerned with justice, the nation will be strong, but when he is only concerned with money, he will ruin his country.”

Proverbs 29:4 Every budget is a moral document.Your family budget reflects what you value.

President Bush’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2006 tells us what he values.As the House and Senate reshape the president’s proposed budget, they are telling us what they value.

Christians must start with a set of biblically grounded moral norms in evaluating this budget. Hundreds of biblical texts tell us that God has a special concern for the poor and demands that rulers seek justice for the poor.The new official public policy document of the National Association of Evangelicals declares that “God measures societies by how they treat the people at the bottom” and says the Bible calls us to “work toward equality of opportunity.” It urges Christians to “work in the political realm to shape wise laws that…protect those trapped in poverty and empower the poor to improve their circumstances.”

Thinking in a Christian way about political proposals like the 2006 budget requires more than biblical norms. We need to understand the context. Several things are especially important: 1) Recent budget deficits (first because of the 2001 recession and then because of huge tax cuts) have become so large that many economists worry they may severely damage future economic well-being; 2) military expenditures have greatly increased in the last few years;3) American

society has become increasingly unequal in the last several decades; and 4) the number of people in poverty and without health insurance has increased in each of the last three years.

From 1977 to 1994, the poorest 60 percent of all Americans actually lost in terms of after-tax income while the richest 1 percent gained 72 percent. The poorest 20 percent benefited a little from the economic growth of the later 1990s, but the richest 20 percent got most of the benefits. From 1979 to 2001, the average annual after-tax income of the richest 1 percent grew by 139 percent (from $294,300 to $703,100) while the bottom 20 percent saw a small gain of 8.5 percent (from $13,000 to $14,000).

By 2000, the U.S. had become the most unequal society of all industrialized nations. In fact, the richest 1 percent had more wealth than the bottom 90 percent.

The Bush tax cuts made things even more unequal. Just 5 percent of the huge tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 went to the bottom 20 percent (an average of $27 per person), while 70 percent of all the tax benefits went to the richest 20 percent —and 26 percent went to the top 1 percent (an average of $34,992 per person!).

The number of people in poverty has grown by more than 1 million each year for the last three years: 17.6 percent of America’s children are in poverty; 45 million Americans lack health insurance.

So what does the president’s budget do? It provides for more tax cuts for the rich, expands the military budget, and cuts dozens of programs that help poorer Americans. Does God really want poor Americans to bear the burden of paying for the war in Iraq and balancing the federal budget?

E ve n t h o u g h t h e n u m b e r o f Americans lacking health insurance stands at the highest point ever, the president proposes cutting Medicaid (health insurance for the poor) by $45 billion over the next 10 years.

Even though the president has made PRISM 2005

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education a priority and increased federal funding for education in his first four years, he now proposes cutting the education budget by $20.5 billion over five years. (Two bright spots: He does propose substantially increasing funding for Pell grants to help poor kids afford college and adds a new $500-million program to encourage teachers to work in low-income schools.)

Even though the WIC program (a nutritional program for pregnant and nursing mothers and their young children) has proven to save money in the long run, the president proposes cutting the program by $658 million over the next five years: 670,000 fewer individuals would be helped in 2010 than in 2005.

Even though low-income Americans find it increasingly difficult to afford housing, the president does not even propose enough funds to continue to serve the people who today receive Section 8 housing vouchers (which help low-income people pay their rent): 370,000 fewer households would receive rental assistance in 2010.

Even though childcare costs for the working poor continue to rise, the president freezes childcare funding for the next five years: 300,000 fewer children will receive childcare assistance in 2010.

Even though the number in poverty keeps rising, the president proposes $600 million in cuts in food stamps over five years: 300,000 people would lose food stamps.

At the same time, the military gets more money and the rich get more tax cuts.The military budget is now about 15 percent higher than it was on average during the Cold War. Anybody who thinks it needs to be that high should insist that richer Americans, not the poor, should pay for it.

In spite of the huge budget deficit, the president’s proposed budget includes tax cuts that will cost $1.4 trillion over 10 years.

Continued on page 39.

as if he does just that. I’m inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.

All in all, The College Dropout is the work of an admitted sinner touched by the grace to speak truth, summed up in a line from “Jesus Walks”: God show me the way because the devil’s trying to break me down.

Guest columnist Jesse James DeConto listens to Kanye West in his car or on headphones, out of the range of little ears. His 4-year-old daughter prefers “girl” singers.

Prophet Unaware

BY BOB HEPBURN

One of the weirder sidebars to Kanye West’s Grammy quest was the unrelated Stellar Award nomination of The College Dropout for “Christian Hip Hop Album of the Year”—a bid that was retracted a few weeks later after howls of protest swamped Stellar Awards’ headquarters.

As embarrassing as this misstep was, it speaks volumes about how the church is faring in the contest for the hearts and

minds of those outside its walls.

Mad props* to Kanye West for understanding the times and knowing what the church should do. He taps into the Jesus Zeitgeist with “Jesus Walks,” deploying street-sharp, church-referenced lyrics crafted for him largely by Che Smith (aka Indianapolis rapper Rhymefest), voicing them over an infectious, militant, and danceable track (co-written by hip-hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari), and then directing it at the street—a context already searchin’ “hard” (in a heartbreakin’ way) for a Christ that’s f ’real.

West lobs a “Go ye” grenade into the Church: Follow your Lord, come out of the sanctuary, and engage this hurting world you’re busy waiting on Jesus to escape from.

Sad drops** for the church for not understanding the times and not knowing what it should be doing.Trading our prophetic voice for the “profitic,” we’ve succumbed to the idolatries of Christian prosperity and celebrity. The adversary’s saw? “Nothing succeeds like success.”

Indeed.

As a secular hip-hop prophet,West’s “ministry”to the church is strange indeed.

Beyond wittily tackling the idiosyn-

crasies of a socio-cultural context, his challenge of status quo Christianity in “Jesus Walks”is a call for a radical return to an “axe is already at the roots” spiritual authenticity. Like the secular poets and prophets who posthumously provided resonant grist for Paul’s Areopagitic flow, so does West (among others)—for those in the Philippians 3:10 loop. Both street and church contexts eagerly await a reso/ revo-lution and everyone will be shocked and awed at how God works it out. In the meantime, God is able to use even someone who says he believes in himself to remind and rebuke God’s own children to get with God and get at what God’s after:“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

Guest columnist Bob Hepburn is director of YUBM (Young Urban Black Male) Ministries.

Check them out at www.yubm.org. *many thanks to **shame on (Brush up on your street slang at www.urbandictionary.com)

Ron Sider, continued from page 40.

Especially striking are two tax cuts that would get phased in from 2006 to 2010: Once fully in force, the 10-year (2010-2019) cost of these two tax cuts is $146 billion. And 97 percent of all the benefits from these cuts go to the richest 4 percent of households with incomes over $200,000 a year; 54 percent go to households with annual incomes of more than $1 million.

Do evangelical Christians really want to support tax cuts for millionaires paid

for by cuts in food stamps, healthcare, housing vouchers, and nutritional programs for poor Americans? Is that the meaning of compassionate conservatism?

If evangelicals want to implement the new NAE declaration’s call to empower the poor to improve their circumstances, they will have to demand that the president and Congress reprioritize the 2006 budget. Eliminating proposed tax cuts for the richest 5 percent of Americans would make available tens of billions of

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dollars to empower the poor.

How can that happen? Actual adoption of the 2006 budget is a lengthy process that will not be complete until October of this year. If enough of us write letters to the president, our senators, and our representatives in the House, they will change the proposed budget. ■ “Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

Psalms 82:4

RON SIDER

Never Before in American History

versation and cooperation. It was not clear at the beginning whether a critical mass of evangelical and Pentecostal denominations would join, but several of us evangelical and Pentecostal participants worked vigorously to encourage our family’s participation. The result is that eight of the founding denominations of CCT come from the evangelical/ Something historic happened March Pentecostal family: Christian Reformed, 28-31 in Atlanta. For the first time ever Church of God (Cleveland), Open Bible in American history, official representa- Churches, International Pentecostal tives of major denominations from all Holiness Church, Salvation Army, Free five family traditions agreed formally to Methodist Church, Evangelical Covenant launch a new ecumenical organization Church, and Church of God of Prophecy.

According to CCT bylaws, 80 percalled Christian Churches Together in cent of the participants/members must the U.S.A. What is so new and important is be national denominations; no more than that the Roman Catholic Church and 20 percent may be national Christian evangelical/Pentecostal denominations organizations. Evangelicals for Social are fully engaged.These two families had Action is privileged to be a founding not joined earlier ecumenical efforts that member in this latter category, as is included mainline Protestants and the World Vision.

One significant early decision that Orthodox and African-American denominations. Now all five families have made it easier for evangelicals/Pentecostals decided to work together in Christian to join was the choice to require that all decision-making in CCT be by conChurches Together (CCT).

CCT’s purpose is to help the vari- sensus. That prevents a bare majority ous Christian theological traditions from ignoring the views of the minority.

CCT would have been ready to launch understand each other better through common prayer and honest dialogue at the June 2005 meeting except for and then to witness together to society the fact that we did not yet have any through faithful evangelism and the African-American denominations on shaping of public life. An annual three- board. Given the tragic history of slavday meeting of leaders of denominations ery and racism in this nation, we felt we and national Christian organizations will must wait until African-American denombe the primary initial vehicle for dialogue inations had joined. Fortunately, two black national Baptist conventions and decision-making.

CCT has a solidly orthodox Christ- (including the largest, led by Dr.William ological and trinitarian theological Shaw) have now become founding foundation. Our common confession is members. AMEN, the largest evangelithat Jesus Christ is God and Savior in cal Latino organization in the States, is accordance with the Scriptures and that also a founding member.

The press release of the Atlanta we worship one God—Father, Son, meeting quoted a lament about the and Holy Spirit.

I have had the privilege of being at brokenness of the body of Christ from all preparatory meetings, starting in 2001. the first meeting in 2001. It conveys From the first meeting there was con- powerfully the impetus for CCT: We lament that we are divided and sensus that it was time to establish a new, that our divisions too often result in much broader table of ecumenical conPRISM 2006

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distrust, misunderstandings, fear, and even hostility among us. We long for the broken body of Christ to be made whole, where unity can be celebrated in the midst of our diversity. We long for more common witness, vision, and mission.

From the beginning, we were clear in CCT that our first tasks were to pray, worship, and dialogue together in order to better understand each other. But we also looked forward to the time when we could witness together.

Each year for several annual meetings, we have spent time on three things: worship and fellowship; business; and discussion of a major theme. In Atlanta, the major issue was overcoming domestic poverty. CCT is clear that (a) this is just one of many issues we will discuss; and (b) that CCT will not become an anti-poverty organization.

However, we did find strong consensus in Atlanta that “a commitment to overcome poverty is central to the mission of the church and essential to our unity in Christ.”Therefore we agreed that CCT would develop a strategy to use the unique gifts and influence of the key church leaders in CCT to summon both our churches and the nation to confront the reality of widespread poverty in the richest nation in history.

CCT’s new steering committee named a task force (which I chair) to bring concrete recommendations to the 2007 annual meeting.

I think CCT represents a truly historic development in American church history. Already the 34 denominations and national Christian organizations that have joined represent over 100 million American Christians. CCT is the broadest, and largest, fellowship of Christian denominations and traditions in the U.S.A. And additional denominations, representing millions of additional members, are already in serious conversation about joining.

Continued on page 39.

as a way for Christians to enter science Watermarks continued from page 21. and help people in a very tangible way.

“I am terribly biased on this issue,” Greenberg says. “But if young Christian are we to do with that fragile beauty rebuilt and reestablished—and that has adults want to do something to help the surrounded by the chaotic, fetid ruins?

My hope for New Orleaneans is that, everything to do with people as well.” world and they want to show the love Greenberg has tackled his fresh calling of Christ at the same time, science and amidst the foul water of natural disasters with a two-pronged approach, seeding the geology in particular are areas with tre- and human failure, they can taste the fine value of environmental stewardship in both mendous needs all over the planet—and wine of a God who is at once good and also a terrible and beautiful mystery. traditional classroom settings as well as in tremendous opportunities.

New Orleans left a watermark on me. non-traditional arenas. For the past few “Clean water and water supply is the years, Greenberg has taught at University number one health problem in the world I am grateful to those who entrusted me of the Nations sites for Youth With a today. And that’s the realm of geology. with the stories of their loss. In the photo Mission (YWAM) in Hawaii and South We want people who are looking for album of my memory are pictures of a Africa.Through these classes, Greenberg something to do who love to help people broken table set with red plates, a mattress equips missionaries with the tools they and share the love of Christ in a very hanging on a telephone pole, and two need to handle certain environmental practical way. Today, the biggest topics unscathed wine glasses. ■ concerns in developing nations. discussed in the news are energy resourc“At these schools, the idea is to help es, tsunamis, earthquakes and hurricanes. You can see more photographs from Chris present a worldview and a new perspec- All of these are geological problems and Jordan’s new book/exhibition, In Katrina’s tive on many different issues,” Greenberg all of them have opportunities for people Wake: Portraits of Loss from an Unnatural says. “Specifically, I want to teach them to get into these fields and share the gos- Disaster, at chrisjordan.com. enough about the earth so they under- pel through working with people.” stand how it works in order to take care Greenberg has seen the level of envi- Lisa K. Fann is a writer, editor, and counselor of it properly. If they don’t understand the ronmental consciousness rise among based in Seattle,Wash. As an instructor for world in which these people live, they will Christians in recent years, but he sees Mars Hill Graduate School’s StoryWorkshops, miss an important life connection.” room for more progress to be made— she works with people to explore their stories At Wheaton, Greenberg has also over- even if it means making some waves. through counseling and writing. seen some of his students’ environmental “We’re so afraid of rocking the boat, This article was adapted from an essay originally published in projects to clean up areas of South African but maybe we need to rock the boat,” “Views from the Edge” on the Mars Hill Graduate School webcoastal cities. “What these students were Greenberg says. “There are so many peo- site (mhgs.edu). Reprinted by permission. able to do was to clean up these town- ple on the fringe of Christianity, but are ships in a profound way,” Greenberg says. so afraid of the Gospel because of the Ron Sider “It helped bring back some pride to strong conservatism that’s grounded more continued from page 40. one area that is one of the best surfing politically than biblically. By embracing I believe CCT can slowly help us beaches in the world.” environmental stewardship, we have an While they were beautifying the land, opportunity to reach people in a way the make progress toward better understanding, common witness, and—please they also helped show the people how church hasn’t seen in a long time.” ■ God—greater unity. I hope that CCT they could maintain the area in a way that would be healthy as well.When the world Learn more about Greenberg’s program at can become an instrument for answering our Lord’s prayer that the loving gets sick, people get sick. I want to get wheaton.edu. unity of his followers would be so them more balanced in their approach to helping people that recognizes both Jason Chatraw co-authored Saving God’s strong and visible that the world would Green Earth and is a freelance writer living believe: “I in them and you in me—so physical and spiritual needs.”

In challenging other believers on in Atlanta, Ga. He is a regular contributor to that they may be brought to complete the topic of environmental stewardship, magazines such as Stand Firm and Christian unity. Then the world will know that Greenberg has found that it is an environ- Single and has most recently served on staff you sent me” (John 17:21-23). We dare mental issue that remains the most toxic at the Atlanta Vineyard Church as small not rest content until our life together as Christians represents the fulfillment enemy to public health in the world: water groups pastor. of our Lord’s prayer for his church. ■ supply. However, he sees these challenges

Christian Environmental Leaders for the 21st Century: Jeffrey Greenberg continued from page 15.

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RON SIDER

The Religious Right Has Lost the Evangelical Center

Call to Civic Responsibility” as the official framework for all their political work.

“The Bible makes it clear that God cares a great deal about the well-being of marriage, the family, the sanctity of human life, justice for the poor, care for creation, peace, freedom, and racial justice,” this document explicitly states. And it goes on to conclude that “faithful evangelical civic engagement must champion a biblically balanced agenda.” This is an A recent, very public clash reveals the explicit rejection of the notion that the greatly diminished clout of the religious only “moral issues” evangelicals care right. In a March 1 letter, James Dobson about are abortion and marriage. And (for some time probably the evangelical the second part of the NAE document religious right’s most influential voice) devotes major sections not just to the called on the National Association of sanctity of human life and marriage but Evangelicals to discipline or fire Richard also to economic justice, peacekeeping, Cizik, its vice president for public pol- religious freedom, human rights, and icy, for championing vigorous action to creation care.

Dramatic events in the evangelical combat global warming. Cizik’s efforts, he wrote, were shifting the emphasis of world in the last two years underline evangelical political engagement “away changes that have been developing for from the great moral issues of our time, many years. Over several decades dozens notably the sanctity of human life, the of evangelical relief and development integrity of marriage, and the teaching agencies have grown into large, multiof sexual abstinence.” Dobson’s open letter to the NAE produced major stories in national newspapers and a New York Times editorial about the dramatic public conflict.

But in spite of Dobson’s obvious clout, the NAE executive board solidly supported Cizik. Why is this important?

Because evangelicals constitute at least a quarter of all American voters; because the million-dollar, global organizations.

NAE is the largest evangelical network World Vision alone is a $1.7 billion a year (approximately 30 million members) in operation. In the last 10 years, evangelithe U.S.; because evangelicals have voted cals have worked so effectively on many overwhelmingly for Republicans in recent issues of global human rights (religious elections; and because the widespread freedom, sexual trafficking, Sudan) that perception has been that evangelicals a New York Times columnist has spoken cared only about this important but nar- of a new “evangelical internationalism.”

Rick Warren (author of The Purpose row range of issues.

What Dobson fails to understand is Driven Life, the most widely read nonthat the center of the evangelical world fiction book in American history) is the has changed dramatically. In a historic most influential American evangelical action in October 2004, the NAE’s board voice today, and Warren is passionately of directors unanimously approved “For and very publicly committed to comthe Health of the Nation:An Evangelical bating poverty and HIV/AIDS, espe-

Voices like James Dobson simply do not represent the center of the evangelical world today.

cially in Africa.

In March 2006 over 80 prominent centrist evangelical leaders launched the Evangelical Climate Initiative.They insisted that science clearly shows that humaninduced global warming is happening.

And they called the federal government to enact national legislation to combat it.

The result, according to many observers, is a substantially increased possibility that Congress will soon pass significant legislation on global warming.

Meeting on March 8-9, soon after they received the Dobson letter, the president and board of the NAE strongly supported Richard Cizik and pointedly and unanimously reaffirmed their commitment to the broader pro-life, and pro-poor, pro-family and pro-creation care agenda developed in their historic declaration,“For the Health of the Nation.”

(They also endorsed a major new evangelical document expressly rejecting all use of torture by U.S. forces and agencies in the struggle against terrorism.)

Religious right voices like James Dobson simply do not represent the center of the evangelical world today.

Mainstream evangelicalism—precisely because it seeks biblical balance—understands that “moral issues” include not just the sanctity of human life and marriage, but also justice for the poor, human rights, freedom, peacemaking, and care for creation. That, of course, is what Evangelicals for Social Action has been saying for decades.

This position is very similar to the official Catholic framework for political engagement. Together the evangelical and Catholic communities represent one half of all American voters. That represents both opportunity and difficulty for both Republicans and Democrats.

Whichever party manages to develop a platform that reflects this full range of issues will discover great interest among large numbers of Catholics and evangelicals who embrace this “biblically balanced” agenda. ■

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RON SIDER

Wright, Obama, and the Future: We Must Choose

after King’s assassination. We lived in nearly all-black North Philadelphia for seven years. Since 1975, we have lived in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood, which is majority African American.

Our daughter is married to a wonderful black American. (Recently, while reading a newspaper story on racist behavior in suburban police departments, I suddenly The good news surrounding the sorry felt a wave of anxiety as I realized what episode of Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s recent might happen to my son-in-law—or political explosion is that it presents all granddaughter—sometime.) These expeof us with a choice. White Americans riences have enabled Arbutus and me to can choose to seek a deeper understand- taste some of the pain, anguish, and—yes ing of black pain and anger, and all of —anger of African Americans. We canus can decide to rise to a new level of not fully feel what it means to be black racial reconciliation. Or we can ignore in this country, but we have learned the truth behind Wright’s exaggerated enough to understand why Wright’s fiery words and choose to use him as a tool —and often historically accurate—words for short-term political advantage, know- evoke a positive response from so many ing that this will block racial reconcili- African Americans.

Wright is right that white Americans ation and heighten division.

African Americans have good reason “took the country by terror” from Native to be angry. White Europeans captured Americans. He is right that our seizure millions, brutalized them on inhuman of Africans from their homeland was slave ships, then sold and bred them as terrorism.

That is not to justify everything animals for two centuries.After Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, white rac- Wright has said. Some of it is wrong and ism produced a century of racist laws in unacceptable. It is silly nonsense, for the South and slightly less explicit but example, to say that the US government widespread racist discrimination in invented AIDS to destroy the black community. Equally outrageous has been the North.

We have made substantial progress, Wright’s decision to go on national telethank God, since Martin Luther King vision and reignite and stoke the fires over Jr led the courageous, nonviolent civil his comments at the height of the rights movement. But we all know Democratic primaries. One would have more subtle racism still exists. Many thought that a concern for his most whites still move out of neighborhoods famous parishioner would have ledWright when African Americans move in. On to seal his lips at least until November!

Senator Obama’s whole life demonbalance, African Americans receive substantially inferior education to whites. strates that he totally rejects racism and Careful studies demonstrate that African believes passionately in the American Americans still experience discrimi- dream of racial reconciliation. At every nation in hiring. Some white police stage in his life—growing up with white officers continue to exhibit racist atti- grandparents, becoming the first African American editor of the Harvard Law tudes and actions.

I have had the privilege of living in Review, winning majority white states majority African American communities in elections—Obama has been a powersince 1966. Arbutus and I sat with our ful champion and compelling voice for African American landlords the night racial reconciliation.

PRISM 2008

40

Senator Obama has rightly rejected Jeremiah Wright’s misguided statements.

Far more important, Senator Obama delivered one of the best speeches in decades on racism in America. He gently but clearly acknowledged and condemned the racism both of his white grandmother and Jeremiah Wright. He helped us understand the pain and anger of African Americans. But most importantly, he used the uproar to call all Americans to reach for a new plateau of greater racial justice and reconciliation.

That is a genuine possibility. We could decide as a nation to take another giant step along the road to racial wholeness.

Will that happen in the next few months? Not necessarily.

There is another real possibility.

Significant voices already make it clear that they intend to wring every ounce of political gain out of Wright’s foolish words. That will deepen racial division, strengthen white racism, and intensify black anger.That will torpedo any chance of seizing our present opportunity to reach another plateau of racial understanding. Senator McCain must lead the way—not just verbally, but by vigorously opposing all efforts to use the Wright episode for short-term political gain.

None of the above represents an endorsement of Senator Obama. I have not endorsed a presidential candidate for more than 35 years and will not this fall.

I recently wrote a piece strongly critical of Senator Obama’s position on abortion.

In my next column, I will discuss the different ways that McCain’s and Obama’s platforms do and do not fit with what I believe is a biblically balanced political agenda.

I do hope and pray, however, that all of us—starting with Senator McCain— will decide in the next few months to seize the present opportunity to move to a higher plateau of racial understanding and reconciliation.That choice would be a wonderful gift to all of us, starting with my little granddaughter. n

RON SIDER

Is Immigration Reform Just Another Way of Saying “Amnesty”?

True amnesty would grant them total, unconditional pardon without having to pay any price. It is perfectly clear that this is not what is being proposed. To charge that that is a “general pardon” (amnesty) is simply false. Lou Dobbs may feel comfortable telling lies on CNN, but Christians — whether they favor or oppose specific immigration reforms— should not. If Christians want to debate immigration reform honestly, then we dare not call President Obama’s (and George Bush’s and John McCain’s) proYes, say many opponents of the kind of posals amnesty.

Precisely to the extent that we want immigration bill supported by former President George W. Bush, Republican our Christian faith to shape our views on presidential candidate John McCain, and immigration, we will search the Scriptures for guidance on how to treat immigrants. current President Barack Obama.

The first thing we discover is that the Regularly on Lou Dobbs’ show on CNN, you hear the charge that immi- Bible talks a great deal about how we gration reform is amnesty.“Good evening, should treat foreigners. (The Hebrew everyone. Here we go again.The Obama word ger refers to persons who live in an administration [is] making amnesty for area but are not native to the local area and illegal aliens and open borders one of its therefore often have no family or land.) top priorities.” “The Obama administra- The biblical text regularly reminded the tion’s push for amnesty for illegal aliens couldn’t come at a worse time for many If we forced all illegal Americans who struggle to survive this immigrants to return home, recession.” we would break up millions What is President Obama proposing? of families.

And is it accurate (or honest) to call it amnesty?

President Obama has said that he people of Israel that they had been immiintends to protect the integrity of American grants in Egypt and then urged them to borders with more personnel, infrastruc- treat immigrants/aliens very generously. ture, and technology. Second, he wants Again and again, the Old Testament links to remove incentives to illegal immigra- aliens/immigrants with two other vulnertion by preventing employers from hiring able groups, widows and orphans, and undocumented workers. And third, he commands Israel to have a special conhopes to bring people out of the shad- cern for them all (Psalms 146:9; Ezekiel ows by allowing undocumented immi- 22:7; Zechariah 7:10; Deuteronomy grants in good standing (it does not apply 14:28-29, 24:19-21). As stated in to criminals) to pay a fine, learn English, Deuteronomy 10:18, God “defends the and go to the back of the line for the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien.” opportunity to become citizens.

Jesus taught that anyone in need is Is this amnesty? The legal definition of amnesty, according to Webster’s dic- our neighbor, and then he commanded tionary, is “a general pardon of offenses us to love our neighbors as ourselves. against a government.” Undocumented Surely that applies to immigrants.

Furthermore, millions of these illegal immigrants have clearly broken the law.

PRISM 2009

48

immigrants are sisters and brothers in Christ. Our oneness in Christ surely is a stronger bond than any division grounded in differing national origins.

A concern to protect the integrity of the family also compels us to find a way to allow undocumented immigrants to stay. Recent estimates suggest that almost 5 million children in the United States have one or more undocumented parents.1 Two-thirds of these children are themselves US citizens. If we forced all these illegal immigrants to return home, we would break up millions of families.2 (Children who are US citizens could return home with a parent, but that would deprive them of educational and economic opportunity.) It is much more pro-family to find a way to allow illegal immigrants to work their way to legal status.

Does all this mean we ought to grant amnesty — a full unconditional pardon — to illegal immigrants? After all, God totally forgives sinners who repent, offering them unconditional pardon through the cross. But the church is not the state.

The state rightly requires that persons pay a penalty for breaking the law. Requiring payment of a substantial fine would show that breaking the law is wrong.

Amnesty is not the answer. Neither is trying to send all illegal immigrants back home. That is anti-family and counter to biblical teaching about how to treat aliens — not to mention impossible and unworkable.

Former President Bush, Senator John McCain, and President Obama all point us in the right direction. It is time for the Christian community to unite to promote wise, family-friendly, fair, caring immigration reform. n andy Capps et al, Paying the Price:The Impact of Immigration R Raids on America’s Children (Washington, DC: The Urban Institute for the National Council of La Raza, 2007).

1

J effrey S. Passel, The Size and Characteristics of the Unauthorized Migrant Population in the U.S.: Estimates Based on the March 2005 Current Population Survey (Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center, 2006).

2

RON SIDER

Helping NGOs Fight Poverty

religious bias, threatened to take over many of the traditional roles of the church in education and care for the poor.

In response, Dutch Calvinists led by Abraham Kuyper developed the theory of “sphere sovereignty”— i.e., God has established many societal institutions as With his endorsement of much of independent realms that rightly control President George W. Bush’s faith-based their own spheres. Instead of becoming initiative during his presidential cam- all-powerful and ever-present, governpaign and his subsequent actions as presi- ment should be limited and support these dent, Barack Obama has cemented this other institutions. But Kuyper also realconcept as a bipartisan consensus in ized that an unrestricted market econAmerican politics. But the liberal-con- omy was just as great a danger to family, servative battles over Bush’s initiative and church, and other community institutions the inherent weaknesses of his vision as was an all-powerful government.

The practical implication of this social produced a faith-based initiative which theory was the vision that government was fundamentally inadequate for overrightly both places limits on market coming American poverty. capitalism and funds universal educaA brilliant new book by Lew Daly, tion/economic programs to empower God’s Economy: Faith-Based Initiatives and the poor.

Furthermore, a great deal of the Caring State (University of Chicago the government funding for these proPress, 2009), places this whole debate grams should flow through a variety of over the initiative in a much broader NGOs. Churches and other religious context and shows us how its weakorganizations should be as free as other nesses could be corrected. groups to run schools and social service The core of Daly’s argument is that agencies, using government funds.

ProBush’s faith-based initiative transcended moted by Christian Democratic political earlier debates between liberals and conservatives about anti-poverty programs parties, these ideas profoundly shaped (conservatives wanted to end govern- policies in education and social welfare, ment responsibility by privatizing wel- especially in Holland and Germany. As fare programs, and liberals wanted to a result, these countries have substanexpand government-run programs). tially less poverty than the US. Daly shows how these ideas — mediBuilding on ideas that originated in ated especially by James Skillen and European Christian Democratic circles, Stanley Carlson-Thies of the Center Bush (unlike Reagan libertarians) retained for Public Justice — influenced George a major role for government in comW. Bush.

Bush argued that government bating poverty but greatly elevated the had an important role in overcoming role of faith-based organizations as the poverty.

But he insisted that the organidelivery systems. Unfortunately, Bush’s zations delivering social services using uncritical embrace of a largely unregovernment funds should be greatly strained market economy prevented him expanded.

He insisted on a “level playfrom understanding another key aspect ing field” that no longer discriminated of European Christian Democracy — i.e., not only an all-powerful state but against faith-based organizations in the also an unrestrained market can and does distribution of government funds. That, Daly argues, produced a major, positive destroy families and communities.

In the 19th century strong national shift in American anti-poverty programs.

Unfortunately, President Bush failed governments, often with a vigorous antiPRISM 2 0 1 0

40

to grasp another crucial aspect of European Christian Democrats. Bush uncritically embraced the view that there should be very few restrictions on the market economy. The vast majority of his tax cuts went to the richest 25 percent instead of empowering the poorer segments of society, and he failed largely to expand effective programs to empower the poor. In spite of President Bush’s new, significant faith-based initiative, the number of Americans in poverty steadily increased during his presidency.

Understanding what Bush got right and wrong helps us see how to do it better. He was right in rejecting the dominant Reagan-Republican push to abandon governmental responsibility to alleviate poverty. He was also right to embrace a much wider role for NGOs in the delivery of government-funded antipoverty programs. Tragically, President Bush failed to provide enough funding to combat poverty and failed to see how an unrestrained market economy threatens families and communities just as much as an all-powerful government.

The way forward, therefore, is to strengthen, not weaken, the role of a wide variety of agencies in the delivery of government-funded anti-poverty programs. That includes adequately protecting the religious identity of faithbased organizations. But the state must act to place effective restraints on markets in order to reduce their negative impact on families and communities. It must also expand funding for effective programs that reduce poverty.The common good trumps unrestrained private economic self-interest. To embrace that whole agenda, both liberals and conservatives will have to abandon one-sided views and partisan bickering.

Hopefully large numbers of Christians and others of goodwill in both parties will insist that both Democrats and Republicans adopt this more holistic agenda for the common good. Q

RON SIDER

Helping NGOs Fight Poverty

religious bias, threatened to take over many of the traditional roles of the church in education and care for the poor.

In response, Dutch Calvinists led by Abraham Kuyper developed the theory of “sphere sovereignty”— i.e., God has established many societal institutions as With his endorsement of much of independent realms that rightly control President George W. Bush’s faith-based their own spheres. Instead of becoming initiative during his presidential cam- all-powerful and ever-present, governpaign and his subsequent actions as presi- ment should be limited and support these dent, Barack Obama has cemented this other institutions. But Kuyper also realconcept as a bipartisan consensus in ized that an unrestricted market econAmerican politics. But the liberal-con- omy was just as great a danger to family, servative battles over Bush’s initiative and church, and other community institutions the inherent weaknesses of his vision as was an all-powerful government.

The practical implication of this social produced a faith-based initiative which theory was the vision that government was fundamentally inadequate for overrightly both places limits on market coming American poverty. capitalism and funds universal educaA brilliant new book by Lew Daly, tion/economic programs to empower God’s Economy: Faith-Based Initiatives and the poor.

Furthermore, a great deal of the Caring State (University of Chicago the government funding for these proPress, 2009), places this whole debate grams should flow through a variety of over the initiative in a much broader NGOs. Churches and other religious context and shows us how its weakorganizations should be as free as other nesses could be corrected. groups to run schools and social service The core of Daly’s argument is that agencies, using government funds.

ProBush’s faith-based initiative transcended moted by Christian Democratic political earlier debates between liberals and conservatives about anti-poverty programs parties, these ideas profoundly shaped (conservatives wanted to end govern- policies in education and social welfare, ment responsibility by privatizing wel- especially in Holland and Germany. As fare programs, and liberals wanted to a result, these countries have substanexpand government-run programs). tially less poverty than the US. Daly shows how these ideas — mediBuilding on ideas that originated in ated especially by James Skillen and European Christian Democratic circles, Stanley Carlson-Thies of the Center Bush (unlike Reagan libertarians) retained for Public Justice — influenced George a major role for government in comW. Bush.

Bush argued that government bating poverty but greatly elevated the had an important role in overcoming role of faith-based organizations as the poverty.

But he insisted that the organidelivery systems. Unfortunately, Bush’s zations delivering social services using uncritical embrace of a largely unregovernment funds should be greatly strained market economy prevented him expanded.

He insisted on a “level playfrom understanding another key aspect ing field” that no longer discriminated of European Christian Democracy — i.e., not only an all-powerful state but against faith-based organizations in the also an unrestrained market can and does distribution of government funds. That, Daly argues, produced a major, positive destroy families and communities.

In the 19th century strong national shift in American anti-poverty programs.

Unfortunately, President Bush failed governments, often with a vigorous antiPRISM 2 0 1 0

40

to grasp another crucial aspect of European Christian Democrats. Bush uncritically embraced the view that there should be very few restrictions on the market economy. The vast majority of his tax cuts went to the richest 25 percent instead of empowering the poorer segments of society, and he failed largely to expand effective programs to empower the poor. In spite of President Bush’s new, significant faith-based initiative, the number of Americans in poverty steadily increased during his presidency.

Understanding what Bush got right and wrong helps us see how to do it better. He was right in rejecting the dominant Reagan-Republican push to abandon governmental responsibility to alleviate poverty. He was also right to embrace a much wider role for NGOs in the delivery of government-funded antipoverty programs. Tragically, President Bush failed to provide enough funding to combat poverty and failed to see how an unrestrained market economy threatens families and communities just as much as an all-powerful government.

The way forward, therefore, is to strengthen, not weaken, the role of a wide variety of agencies in the delivery of government-funded anti-poverty programs. That includes adequately protecting the religious identity of faithbased organizations. But the state must act to place effective restraints on markets in order to reduce their negative impact on families and communities. It must also expand funding for effective programs that reduce poverty.The common good trumps unrestrained private economic self-interest. To embrace that whole agenda, both liberals and conservatives will have to abandon one-sided views and partisan bickering.

Hopefully large numbers of Christians and others of goodwill in both parties will insist that both Democrats and Republicans adopt this more holistic agenda for the common good. Q

RON

Needed for This Fall: An Evangelical Political Philosophy Just because you are a Christian does not mean you get your politics right. That’s true for all of us, not just George W. Bush and John Kerry.

Republican Senator Jesse Helms, for example, was for many years one of the most prominent pro-life leaders in Washington. But Helms represented North Carolina, the number-one tobacco-growing state, and as such regularly defended tobacco subsidies and the use of tax dollars to ship tobacco to poor nations under our Food for Peace program—not exactly a pro-life position.

Miguel d’Escoto was a Catholic priest who became foreign minister of Nicaragua under the rule of the semiMarxist Sandinistas in the 1980s.

Around 1987, D’Escoto travelled to Moscow to accept the Lenin Peace Prize, where he called the Soviet Union the great hope for the future of humanity —again, hardly perceptive, especially in the late-’80s.

Examples of Christian folly in the political realm abound. In the last couple of decades, evangelicals around the world have flooded into politics.There have been evangelical presidents in Africa and Latin America and scores of newly elected evangelical officials the world over.

Again and again, like many evangelical political voices here, they have been foolish or corrupt or incompetent.

But how does one think properly about politics? How does one move from a strong biblical faith to concrete pub-

SIDER

lic-policy conclusions—or the selection of a president on November 2?

That’s a question I am wrestling with r ight now, not only because I must decide for whom to vote this fall, but also because I am currently writing a book on precisely that topic. I will give you a very short summary of my answer in the hope that it will help as you decide how to vote on November 2.

Every political decision requires four different components: a normative vision; careful socio-economic, historical analysis of society; a political philosophy; and then some more detailed analysis.

Almost every political decision is grounded in some set of values: about the nature of persons, right and wrong, etc.

If you think persons are just complex material machines that will rot and disappear at death, you treat them differently than if you think they are created in the image of God and invited to obey and live with the Creator for all eternity.

Legislators who believe law is grounded in a universal moral order embedded by the Creator will craft legislation differently than those who believe law is merely a set of arbitrary societal rules created by self-interested power blocs.

While a normative vision or biblical worldview is the essential starting point, it is not enough.The Bible says nothing about the graduated income tax, global warming, or democratic capitalism. We need to engage in a careful, sophisticated study of history to see what works and what does not in real societies.

But a biblical worldview and careful social analysis are still not enough.You do not have the time between now and November 2 to spend months developing a biblical normative vision and restudying history.You need a road map —a handy guide that boils down the essence of what flows from integrating a normative biblical vision with extended, careful social analysis. That’s what one calls a political ideology.

My political philosophy (which I will PRISM 2004

36

gladly change if you can show me that it does not flow logically from a biblical worldview and accurate social/ historical analysis) includes things like the following: • Society is much larger than the State; therefore a good government does not try to dominate or replace all the other important institutions in society like the family, media, business, churches, and faith-based social agencies.

• Since centralized power in a fallen world is always dangerous, we must guard against allowing small groups of people (whether a communist party or a small circle of very wealthy business leaders) to gain vast, unchecked power.

• Since God has a special concern for the poor and summons rulers to bring justice to the needy, both nongovernmental institutions and the State ought to adopt policies that enable the poor to become self-sufficient and enjoy quality healthcare.

• Tax policies ought to promote economic well-being, encourage marriage, and benefit the working poor.

• A biblically balanced platform would be pro-life, pro-poor, pro-family, proracial justice, pro-peace, and pro-creation care since God cares about all those things.

Lastly, even after developing a working political philosophy, a specific social analysis is needed. Both Bush and Kerry say that their political philosophy calls for public law that allows only a man and a woman to obtain a marriage license.

But is Kerry right to leave that decision to the state legislatures (and courts), or is Bush right to call for a constitutional amendment to prevent activist judges from demanding the acceptance of gay marriage? Answering that question requires careful analysis of many things, including recent court decisions and changing public opinion. (My analysis leads me to agree with Bush on this one.)

Continued on page 33.

OFF

THE

SHELF

less wasn’t reserved for those times when there was a little something left over: It was a portion required by God from each person’s livelihood. In return God promised to bless those who cared for the fatherless—and to curse those who did not.

Moreover, as evidenced in the story of Ruth, care of the fatherless went beyond the provision of material goods.

It called for an involvement in the lives of the fatherless and their inclusion as members of one’s own family.

In his exposition of New Testament Scriptures, Davis shows that God requires no less from us today.“If we are to please Him,” he writes,“we must recover what

has become a lost cause—the fatherless. … It doesn’t mean you have to become a missionary or take a vow of poverty!

In some very practical ways, you can participate in the lives of those God is so passionate about and make differences that will last an eternity.”

Sponsoring an orphan abroad; inviting and keeping in touch with foreign students at your local university; babysitting or sharing groceries with a single mother on your street; mowing the lawn or running errands for a neighborhood widow, or just inviting her over for a cup of tea: these are the ways we can make a powerful difference in the life of the fatherless.

“Your creative energy could be the very thing that helps him or her keep going and even experience God’s love for the first time,” writes Davis. “Will you plant a seed of hope in lives that have been stripped bare by the misery of this world?”

This book brings power and urgency to the saying, “To the world, you may be just one person. But to one person, you might just be the world.”To mean that much to someone is itself blessing enough. ■

Postcards from the Road continued from page 26.

Art & Soul continued from page 27.

Ron Sider continued from page 36.

internships, and/or witness weekends (see Network 9:35’s free resource, Congregation2Congregation, at www.net work935.org).

And the final component? Keep praying. Prayer needs to be more than an occasional activity in worship or meetings. “Pray without ceasing” for future leaders. Last year, while serving a congregation whose pastor was on sabbatical, I helped their staff and leadership brainstorm about potential leaders, developed a prayer list of those names, and encouraged current leaders to look for ways to mentor future leaders in a prayerful way.

If your congregation wants to “hit the road,” they must create an efficient leadership-development plan for effective outreach. Let me know how I can be of help as you undertake this exciting process. ■

You get the idea. Not only does each artistic act bring a touch of beauty to an increasingly hard world, but by engaging with those creative folks in their artistic venues, we create new opportunities for friendship and truth.

Because whatever we think of the film, it wasn’t that long ago when “The Passion of the Christ” was merely an idea for a movie that required a whole lot of creative planning and financial backing before it could ever be made.

And since so many Christians paid to see it, couldn’t we be equally passionate about investing in the lives of artists of faith who show us God’s kingdom from a thousand different perspectives?

Shouldn’t God’s extravagant grace in our lives motivate such generosity?

Imagine what will happen if it doesn’t. ■

Both Bush and Kerry have a political philosophy that calls for some government taxation and spending to help the poor. But Bush favors huge tax cuts for the rich, and Kerry wants to reduce those tax cuts for the richest in order to have more resources to assist the needy.

(My analysis supports Kerry here.)

The choices are not easy. I find that in virtually every presidential election, each candidate is better on some issues and worse on others. In my next column, I will try to evaluate the Bush and Kerry platforms in light of what I consider a biblically informed evangelical political philosophy. But no mathematical calculus exists that allows one to reach an easy, certain conclusion. One must think hard, pray hard, and then vote, knowing one may be wrong. Politics remains a messy, uncertain art—even with a good evangelical political philosophy. ■

Pamela Robinson is a freelance writer and college composition instructor living in Mt. Vernon, Ind.

The free PRISM ePistle has gone weekly! Send an email to e-pistle@esa-online.org to subscribe.

PRISM 2004

33

RON

Needed for This Fall: An Evangelical Political Philosophy Just because you are a Christian does not mean you get your politics right. That’s true for all of us, not just George W. Bush and John Kerry.

Republican Senator Jesse Helms, for example, was for many years one of the most prominent pro-life leaders in Washington. But Helms represented North Carolina, the number-one tobacco-growing state, and as such regularly defended tobacco subsidies and the use of tax dollars to ship tobacco to poor nations under our Food for Peace program—not exactly a pro-life position.

Miguel d’Escoto was a Catholic priest who became foreign minister of Nicaragua under the rule of the semiMarxist Sandinistas in the 1980s.

Around 1987, D’Escoto travelled to Moscow to accept the Lenin Peace Prize, where he called the Soviet Union the great hope for the future of humanity —again, hardly perceptive, especially in the late-’80s.

Examples of Christian folly in the political realm abound. In the last couple of decades, evangelicals around the world have flooded into politics.There have been evangelical presidents in Africa and Latin America and scores of newly elected evangelical officials the world over.

Again and again, like many evangelical political voices here, they have been foolish or corrupt or incompetent.

But how does one think properly about politics? How does one move from a strong biblical faith to concrete pub-

SIDER

lic-policy conclusions—or the selection of a president on November 2?

That’s a question I am wrestling with r ight now, not only because I must decide for whom to vote this fall, but also because I am currently writing a book on precisely that topic. I will give you a very short summary of my answer in the hope that it will help as you decide how to vote on November 2.

Every political decision requires four different components: a normative vision; careful socio-economic, historical analysis of society; a political philosophy; and then some more detailed analysis.

Almost every political decision is grounded in some set of values: about the nature of persons, right and wrong, etc.

If you think persons are just complex material machines that will rot and disappear at death, you treat them differently than if you think they are created in the image of God and invited to obey and live with the Creator for all eternity.

Legislators who believe law is grounded in a universal moral order embedded by the Creator will craft legislation differently than those who believe law is merely a set of arbitrary societal rules created by self-interested power blocs.

While a normative vision or biblical worldview is the essential starting point, it is not enough.The Bible says nothing about the graduated income tax, global warming, or democratic capitalism. We need to engage in a careful, sophisticated study of history to see what works and what does not in real societies.

But a biblical worldview and careful social analysis are still not enough.You do not have the time between now and November 2 to spend months developing a biblical normative vision and restudying history.You need a road map —a handy guide that boils down the essence of what flows from integrating a normative biblical vision with extended, careful social analysis. That’s what one calls a political ideology.

My political philosophy (which I will PRISM 2004

36

gladly change if you can show me that it does not flow logically from a biblical worldview and accurate social/ historical analysis) includes things like the following: • Society is much larger than the State; therefore a good government does not try to dominate or replace all the other important institutions in society like the family, media, business, churches, and faith-based social agencies.

• Since centralized power in a fallen world is always dangerous, we must guard against allowing small groups of people (whether a communist party or a small circle of very wealthy business leaders) to gain vast, unchecked power.

• Since God has a special concern for the poor and summons rulers to bring justice to the needy, both nongovernmental institutions and the State ought to adopt policies that enable the poor to become self-sufficient and enjoy quality healthcare.

• Tax policies ought to promote economic well-being, encourage marriage, and benefit the working poor.

• A biblically balanced platform would be pro-life, pro-poor, pro-family, proracial justice, pro-peace, and pro-creation care since God cares about all those things.

Lastly, even after developing a working political philosophy, a specific social analysis is needed. Both Bush and Kerry say that their political philosophy calls for public law that allows only a man and a woman to obtain a marriage license.

But is Kerry right to leave that decision to the state legislatures (and courts), or is Bush right to call for a constitutional amendment to prevent activist judges from demanding the acceptance of gay marriage? Answering that question requires careful analysis of many things, including recent court decisions and changing public opinion. (My analysis leads me to agree with Bush on this one.)

Continued on page 33.

OFF

THE

SHELF

less wasn’t reserved for those times when there was a little something left over: It was a portion required by God from each person’s livelihood. In return God promised to bless those who cared for the fatherless—and to curse those who did not.

Moreover, as evidenced in the story of Ruth, care of the fatherless went beyond the provision of material goods.

It called for an involvement in the lives of the fatherless and their inclusion as members of one’s own family.

In his exposition of New Testament Scriptures, Davis shows that God requires no less from us today.“If we are to please Him,” he writes,“we must recover what

has become a lost cause—the fatherless. … It doesn’t mean you have to become a missionary or take a vow of poverty!

In some very practical ways, you can participate in the lives of those God is so passionate about and make differences that will last an eternity.”

Sponsoring an orphan abroad; inviting and keeping in touch with foreign students at your local university; babysitting or sharing groceries with a single mother on your street; mowing the lawn or running errands for a neighborhood widow, or just inviting her over for a cup of tea: these are the ways we can make a powerful difference in the life of the fatherless.

“Your creative energy could be the very thing that helps him or her keep going and even experience God’s love for the first time,” writes Davis. “Will you plant a seed of hope in lives that have been stripped bare by the misery of this world?”

This book brings power and urgency to the saying, “To the world, you may be just one person. But to one person, you might just be the world.”To mean that much to someone is itself blessing enough. ■

Postcards from the Road continued from page 26.

Art & Soul continued from page 27.

Ron Sider continued from page 36.

internships, and/or witness weekends (see Network 9:35’s free resource, Congregation2Congregation, at www.net work935.org).

And the final component? Keep praying. Prayer needs to be more than an occasional activity in worship or meetings. “Pray without ceasing” for future leaders. Last year, while serving a congregation whose pastor was on sabbatical, I helped their staff and leadership brainstorm about potential leaders, developed a prayer list of those names, and encouraged current leaders to look for ways to mentor future leaders in a prayerful way.

If your congregation wants to “hit the road,” they must create an efficient leadership-development plan for effective outreach. Let me know how I can be of help as you undertake this exciting process. ■

You get the idea. Not only does each artistic act bring a touch of beauty to an increasingly hard world, but by engaging with those creative folks in their artistic venues, we create new opportunities for friendship and truth.

Because whatever we think of the film, it wasn’t that long ago when “The Passion of the Christ” was merely an idea for a movie that required a whole lot of creative planning and financial backing before it could ever be made.

And since so many Christians paid to see it, couldn’t we be equally passionate about investing in the lives of artists of faith who show us God’s kingdom from a thousand different perspectives?

Shouldn’t God’s extravagant grace in our lives motivate such generosity?

Imagine what will happen if it doesn’t. ■

Both Bush and Kerry have a political philosophy that calls for some government taxation and spending to help the poor. But Bush favors huge tax cuts for the rich, and Kerry wants to reduce those tax cuts for the richest in order to have more resources to assist the needy.

(My analysis supports Kerry here.)

The choices are not easy. I find that in virtually every presidential election, each candidate is better on some issues and worse on others. In my next column, I will try to evaluate the Bush and Kerry platforms in light of what I consider a biblically informed evangelical political philosophy. But no mathematical calculus exists that allows one to reach an easy, certain conclusion. One must think hard, pray hard, and then vote, knowing one may be wrong. Politics remains a messy, uncertain art—even with a good evangelical political philosophy. ■

Pamela Robinson is a freelance writer and college composition instructor living in Mt. Vernon, Ind.

The free PRISM ePistle has gone weekly! Send an email to e-pistle@esa-online.org to subscribe.

PRISM 2004

33

RON

Heaven Is Not My Home I grew up singing the gospel song, “This world is not my home, I’m just apassing through. My treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue…”

Christians have been misled by Plato, the great Greek philosopher, to neglect the clear biblical teaching about the goodness of creation, the body, and the material world. Plato thought persons had a good soul trapped in an evil body.

His solution? Escape from the body and the material world.

That is the way many Christians think about the future that Christ will bring.

A few years ago Time magazine reported that two-thirds of all Americans believe they will be without bodies after the Resurrection. Since about 86 percent of all Americans claim to be Christians, that means that most American Christians apparently suppose that at Christ’s return they will be invisible, immaterial souls floating around in some kind of ethereal, spiritual “heaven.”

In many ways, evangelical Christians have a profoundly unbiblical view of the future, which undercuts our faithful work for justice now. As the incredibly popular Left Behind series (55 million copies in print) demonstrates, we are fixated on the End Times. As the saying goes, many pious Christians are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.

A few years ago, evangelical political scientist and theologian Paul Marshall wrote a superb response that every evangelical—especially every reader of the Left Behind series—should read. His marvelous book has an equally excellent title, Heaven Is Not My Home: Living in the NOW of God’s Creation (Word, 1998).

One of the most basic problems in much evangelical thought is that many

SIDER

believers have a dreadfully inadequate theology of creation. God made the world and declared it to be very good.

Made in the divine image, human beings were given the awesome task of caring for the earth and using its stupendous complexity and beauty to create wealth, art, music—civilization.

Sin, to be sure, messed everything up, including the non-human creation. But God’s plan of redemption was not to rescue trapped souls from a sinking ocean liner.The Bible clearly teaches that God intends to restore the whole of creation.

For starters, just as Jesus was raised bodily from the tomb, so believers await their bodily resurrection at Christ’s return.

But the restoration does not end with humans. Everything that sin messed up in the entire creation will be made whole (although that doesn’t mean everyone will be saved). At our resurrection,“the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Rom.8:21). Even the best of human civilization will be purged of sin and brought into the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:22-22:2).

Nor is the New Jerusalem some ethereal “heaven”—it is this good earth purged of evil and made whole. It is true that Revelation 21:1 says that “the first earth had passed away” and that there is a “new heaven and a new earth.” But that passage simply echoes Isaiah 65:17ff which says God will “create new heavens and a new earth.” It is perfectly clear in the Isaiah text that the author means that this earth will be purged of all sin and thus be so different that we can only speak of a “new” earth.There will be no weeping or crying, but the people in the “new earth” will “build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit” (Is. 65:21).According to Revelation 21, the New Jerusalem comes “down out of heaven from God” and “the home of God is among mortals” (vv. 2, 3).That is what we await— PRISM 2004

36

a bodily resurrected person living on a transformed earth in the presence of the resurrected Jesus who is God-inthe-flesh.

Within this biblical framework of creation and redemption, Marshall has marvelous sketches of the goodness of work, art, politics, rest, and play. He also begins and ends each chapter with powerful personal vignettes and poetic depictions of the natural world’s shimmering beauty. (Marshall also has a very helpful section on the oft misunderstood text in 2 Peter 3:7-10; see pp. 236-38.)

Given the solid biblical theology of Marshall’s book, it was a bit surprising at one point to see him slip back into the one-sided, individualistic definition of the gospel:“Through faith in Jesus Christ we have forgiveness of our sins and the sure hope of everlasting life with God: that is the core of the gospel” (my italics).

If the gospel is just forgiveness of sins, then it is a one-way ticket to “heaven,” and we can live like hell till we get there.

Jesus’ definition of the gospel as the good news of the kingdom fits far better with everything else Marshall says. Forgiveness of sins and everlasting life are, thank God, one central part of Jesus’ gospel, but so is the fact that the Messianic community—where now in the power of the Holy Spirit Jesus’ disciples can begin to live Jesus’ kingdom values—has already broken into history. In the faithful body of Christ, we already get a powerful glimpse of what “heaven”— the restored earth where we will live forever with the risen Lord—will be like.

That biblical view of the future does not call Christians today to escape the world. It sends us into the world to begin to change it because we know that eventually all things will be made new.

We now erect signs of that coming wholeness because we know that in God’s time the kingdoms of this world will “become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and forever” (Rev. 11:15). ■

RON

Heaven Is Not My Home I grew up singing the gospel song, “This world is not my home, I’m just apassing through. My treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue…”

Christians have been misled by Plato, the great Greek philosopher, to neglect the clear biblical teaching about the goodness of creation, the body, and the material world. Plato thought persons had a good soul trapped in an evil body.

His solution? Escape from the body and the material world.

That is the way many Christians think about the future that Christ will bring.

A few years ago Time magazine reported that two-thirds of all Americans believe they will be without bodies after the Resurrection. Since about 86 percent of all Americans claim to be Christians, that means that most American Christians apparently suppose that at Christ’s return they will be invisible, immaterial souls floating around in some kind of ethereal, spiritual “heaven.”

In many ways, evangelical Christians have a profoundly unbiblical view of the future, which undercuts our faithful work for justice now. As the incredibly popular Left Behind series (55 million copies in print) demonstrates, we are fixated on the End Times. As the saying goes, many pious Christians are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.

A few years ago, evangelical political scientist and theologian Paul Marshall wrote a superb response that every evangelical—especially every reader of the Left Behind series—should read. His marvelous book has an equally excellent title, Heaven Is Not My Home: Living in the NOW of God’s Creation (Word, 1998).

One of the most basic problems in much evangelical thought is that many

SIDER

believers have a dreadfully inadequate theology of creation. God made the world and declared it to be very good.

Made in the divine image, human beings were given the awesome task of caring for the earth and using its stupendous complexity and beauty to create wealth, art, music—civilization.

Sin, to be sure, messed everything up, including the non-human creation. But God’s plan of redemption was not to rescue trapped souls from a sinking ocean liner.The Bible clearly teaches that God intends to restore the whole of creation.

For starters, just as Jesus was raised bodily from the tomb, so believers await their bodily resurrection at Christ’s return.

But the restoration does not end with humans. Everything that sin messed up in the entire creation will be made whole (although that doesn’t mean everyone will be saved). At our resurrection,“the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Rom.8:21). Even the best of human civilization will be purged of sin and brought into the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:22-22:2).

Nor is the New Jerusalem some ethereal “heaven”—it is this good earth purged of evil and made whole. It is true that Revelation 21:1 says that “the first earth had passed away” and that there is a “new heaven and a new earth.” But that passage simply echoes Isaiah 65:17ff which says God will “create new heavens and a new earth.” It is perfectly clear in the Isaiah text that the author means that this earth will be purged of all sin and thus be so different that we can only speak of a “new” earth.There will be no weeping or crying, but the people in the “new earth” will “build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit” (Is. 65:21).According to Revelation 21, the New Jerusalem comes “down out of heaven from God” and “the home of God is among mortals” (vv. 2, 3).That is what we await— PRISM 2004

36

a bodily resurrected person living on a transformed earth in the presence of the resurrected Jesus who is God-inthe-flesh.

Within this biblical framework of creation and redemption, Marshall has marvelous sketches of the goodness of work, art, politics, rest, and play. He also begins and ends each chapter with powerful personal vignettes and poetic depictions of the natural world’s shimmering beauty. (Marshall also has a very helpful section on the oft misunderstood text in 2 Peter 3:7-10; see pp. 236-38.)

Given the solid biblical theology of Marshall’s book, it was a bit surprising at one point to see him slip back into the one-sided, individualistic definition of the gospel:“Through faith in Jesus Christ we have forgiveness of our sins and the sure hope of everlasting life with God: that is the core of the gospel” (my italics).

If the gospel is just forgiveness of sins, then it is a one-way ticket to “heaven,” and we can live like hell till we get there.

Jesus’ definition of the gospel as the good news of the kingdom fits far better with everything else Marshall says. Forgiveness of sins and everlasting life are, thank God, one central part of Jesus’ gospel, but so is the fact that the Messianic community—where now in the power of the Holy Spirit Jesus’ disciples can begin to live Jesus’ kingdom values—has already broken into history. In the faithful body of Christ, we already get a powerful glimpse of what “heaven”— the restored earth where we will live forever with the risen Lord—will be like.

That biblical view of the future does not call Christians today to escape the world. It sends us into the world to begin to change it because we know that eventually all things will be made new.

We now erect signs of that coming wholeness because we know that in God’s time the kingdoms of this world will “become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and forever” (Rev. 11:15). ■

RON

Heaven Is Not My Home I grew up singing the gospel song, “This world is not my home, I’m just apassing through. My treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue…”

Christians have been misled by Plato, the great Greek philosopher, to neglect the clear biblical teaching about the goodness of creation, the body, and the material world. Plato thought persons had a good soul trapped in an evil body.

His solution? Escape from the body and the material world.

That is the way many Christians think about the future that Christ will bring.

A few years ago Time magazine reported that two-thirds of all Americans believe they will be without bodies after the Resurrection. Since about 86 percent of all Americans claim to be Christians, that means that most American Christians apparently suppose that at Christ’s return they will be invisible, immaterial souls floating around in some kind of ethereal, spiritual “heaven.”

In many ways, evangelical Christians have a profoundly unbiblical view of the future, which undercuts our faithful work for justice now. As the incredibly popular Left Behind series (55 million copies in print) demonstrates, we are fixated on the End Times. As the saying goes, many pious Christians are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.

A few years ago, evangelical political scientist and theologian Paul Marshall wrote a superb response that every evangelical—especially every reader of the Left Behind series—should read. His marvelous book has an equally excellent title, Heaven Is Not My Home: Living in the NOW of God’s Creation (Word, 1998).

One of the most basic problems in much evangelical thought is that many

SIDER

believers have a dreadfully inadequate theology of creation. God made the world and declared it to be very good.

Made in the divine image, human beings were given the awesome task of caring for the earth and using its stupendous complexity and beauty to create wealth, art, music—civilization.

Sin, to be sure, messed everything up, including the non-human creation. But God’s plan of redemption was not to rescue trapped souls from a sinking ocean liner.The Bible clearly teaches that God intends to restore the whole of creation.

For starters, just as Jesus was raised bodily from the tomb, so believers await their bodily resurrection at Christ’s return.

But the restoration does not end with humans. Everything that sin messed up in the entire creation will be made whole (although that doesn’t mean everyone will be saved). At our resurrection,“the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Rom.8:21). Even the best of human civilization will be purged of sin and brought into the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:22-22:2).

Nor is the New Jerusalem some ethereal “heaven”—it is this good earth purged of evil and made whole. It is true that Revelation 21:1 says that “the first earth had passed away” and that there is a “new heaven and a new earth.” But that passage simply echoes Isaiah 65:17ff which says God will “create new heavens and a new earth.” It is perfectly clear in the Isaiah text that the author means that this earth will be purged of all sin and thus be so different that we can only speak of a “new” earth.There will be no weeping or crying, but the people in the “new earth” will “build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit” (Is. 65:21).According to Revelation 21, the New Jerusalem comes “down out of heaven from God” and “the home of God is among mortals” (vv. 2, 3).That is what we await— PRISM 2004

36

a bodily resurrected person living on a transformed earth in the presence of the resurrected Jesus who is God-inthe-flesh.

Within this biblical framework of creation and redemption, Marshall has marvelous sketches of the goodness of work, art, politics, rest, and play. He also begins and ends each chapter with powerful personal vignettes and poetic depictions of the natural world’s shimmering beauty. (Marshall also has a very helpful section on the oft misunderstood text in 2 Peter 3:7-10; see pp. 236-38.)

Given the solid biblical theology of Marshall’s book, it was a bit surprising at one point to see him slip back into the one-sided, individualistic definition of the gospel:“Through faith in Jesus Christ we have forgiveness of our sins and the sure hope of everlasting life with God: that is the core of the gospel” (my italics).

If the gospel is just forgiveness of sins, then it is a one-way ticket to “heaven,” and we can live like hell till we get there.

Jesus’ definition of the gospel as the good news of the kingdom fits far better with everything else Marshall says. Forgiveness of sins and everlasting life are, thank God, one central part of Jesus’ gospel, but so is the fact that the Messianic community—where now in the power of the Holy Spirit Jesus’ disciples can begin to live Jesus’ kingdom values—has already broken into history. In the faithful body of Christ, we already get a powerful glimpse of what “heaven”— the restored earth where we will live forever with the risen Lord—will be like.

That biblical view of the future does not call Christians today to escape the world. It sends us into the world to begin to change it because we know that eventually all things will be made new.

We now erect signs of that coming wholeness because we know that in God’s time the kingdoms of this world will “become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and forever” (Rev. 11:15). ■

RON SIDER

A Tsunami Every Week News about the ghastly devastation caused by the Asian tsunami rolled in day after day as I was finishing the revisions for the fifth edition of my Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger—20,000 dead…then 50,000,100,000,175,000. The final count could easily reach 200,000 lives suddenly snuffed out by the raging ocean.

People of the world rightly recoiled in horror and then swiftly launched a massive global effort to save those the sea had spared.

Such an enormous death toll is truly awful. But far more than that number of people die unnecessarily every week— this week, next week, and every week— because of poverty the rich world chooses largely to ignore. Every day 30,000 children die of starvation and diseases we know how to prevent—210,000 dead (counting only the children) every week.

That means that more than 52 times as many children die unnecessarily from poverty every year as those who perished in the year-end tsunami.

According to the World Bank, 1.2 billion people struggle to survive on just one dollar a day.Another 1.6 billion live on less than two dollars a day.That kind of poverty means inadequate food, lack of clean water and sanitation, inadequate or no medical care, and therefore unnecessary disease, brain damage, and illiteracy.

In 2004 the World Bank reported that 1 billion people lack access to safe water and 2.5 billion have no access to improved sanitation, and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 6,000 children die every day from these two causes alone. The WHO reports that 13 million people die each year from diseases like diarrhea, malaria, and tuberculosis that we know how to

prevent or cure.

According to the WHO, it would only take about $3 billion more invested each year in preventive care in poorer nations to save 5 million people. Can Americans, who spend $30-$50 billion each year on weight-loss diets, not give one-tenth of that to save 5 million people a year?

AIDS is one of the most deadly killers of the poor. In rich nations, most people with AIDS receive expensive drugs that can enable them to live largely normal lives. But in Africa, where half of the world’s 48 million AIDS victims live, only three to four percent of those who need these life-saving drugs receive them.Why? Because even though the price of these drugs in Africa has dropped enormously in the last two to three years, most people still cannot afford them. A careful study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimated that just $27 billion (far less than the rich world spends on golf each year) spent over eight years would prevent 30 million poor people from getting infected with HIV/AIDS. According to the United Nations, 20 percent of those living in the richest nations are at least 74 times as rich as 20 percent of those living in the poorest nations. In fact, the richest 25 million Americans enjoy as much income as the poorest 2 billion people in the world.

Part of the tragedy is that American citizens think we are far more generous than we are.A 2001 poll by the University of Maryland discovered that most Americans believe that the United States spends 24 percent of the annual federal budget on foreign aid! In reality, it is only a tiny fraction of that. In fact, as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, we are dead last (0.14 percent) among all industrialized nations in official development assistance. (Thankfully, the large amount of American private relief and development funds improves that figure a little, but only a little.)

PRISM 2005

40

What can be done? We can make changes in our personal lifestyles, our churches, and our public policy. Each of us can, in the words of a Catholic saint, “begin to live more simply so that others may simply live.” Less money spent on new clothes, new cars, large houses, and expensive vacations can mean life rather than death if we share those resources through effective Christian development organizations. If we used just 1 percent of global Christian income for microloans, we could raise the income of the poorest 1 billion people in the world by 50 percent—within one year!

Our churches need to preach on more texts like Proverbs 19:17—“He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord”— and then reallocate church budgets so they are consistent with the hundreds of biblical texts that talk about God’s concern for the poor.

Finally, we need to change public policy: forgiving much more of the debt of the most heavily indebted countries; increasing economic foreign aid to combat poverty,AIDS, and other preventable diseases; and making international trade more fair.

The huge amount of farm subsidies in rich nations is another thing that must change. Just one example: Farmers in Africa can produce cotton for about onethird the cost of producing cotton in the United States. But in a recent year, the U.S. government gave out $3.9 billion in subsidies to 25,000 American cotton farmers—more than the entire GDP for the African country of Burkina Faso, where more than 2 million people depend on cotton for their livelihood It would take only a small percent of our incredible wealth to dramatically reduce poverty in our world. As you (rightly) support the victims of the Asian tsunami, remember that a quiet, largely hidden tsunami kills well over 200,000 people every week. And that will continue year after year after year unless you and I decide to change it. ■

RON SIDER

A Tsunami Every Week News about the ghastly devastation caused by the Asian tsunami rolled in day after day as I was finishing the revisions for the fifth edition of my Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger—20,000 dead…then 50,000,100,000,175,000. The final count could easily reach 200,000 lives suddenly snuffed out by the raging ocean.

People of the world rightly recoiled in horror and then swiftly launched a massive global effort to save those the sea had spared.

Such an enormous death toll is truly awful. But far more than that number of people die unnecessarily every week— this week, next week, and every week— because of poverty the rich world chooses largely to ignore. Every day 30,000 children die of starvation and diseases we know how to prevent—210,000 dead (counting only the children) every week.

That means that more than 52 times as many children die unnecessarily from poverty every year as those who perished in the year-end tsunami.

According to the World Bank, 1.2 billion people struggle to survive on just one dollar a day.Another 1.6 billion live on less than two dollars a day.That kind of poverty means inadequate food, lack of clean water and sanitation, inadequate or no medical care, and therefore unnecessary disease, brain damage, and illiteracy.

In 2004 the World Bank reported that 1 billion people lack access to safe water and 2.5 billion have no access to improved sanitation, and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 6,000 children die every day from these two causes alone. The WHO reports that 13 million people die each year from diseases like diarrhea, malaria, and tuberculosis that we know how to

prevent or cure.

According to the WHO, it would only take about $3 billion more invested each year in preventive care in poorer nations to save 5 million people. Can Americans, who spend $30-$50 billion each year on weight-loss diets, not give one-tenth of that to save 5 million people a year?

AIDS is one of the most deadly killers of the poor. In rich nations, most people with AIDS receive expensive drugs that can enable them to live largely normal lives. But in Africa, where half of the world’s 48 million AIDS victims live, only three to four percent of those who need these life-saving drugs receive them.Why? Because even though the price of these drugs in Africa has dropped enormously in the last two to three years, most people still cannot afford them. A careful study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimated that just $27 billion (far less than the rich world spends on golf each year) spent over eight years would prevent 30 million poor people from getting infected with HIV/AIDS. According to the United Nations, 20 percent of those living in the richest nations are at least 74 times as rich as 20 percent of those living in the poorest nations. In fact, the richest 25 million Americans enjoy as much income as the poorest 2 billion people in the world.

Part of the tragedy is that American citizens think we are far more generous than we are.A 2001 poll by the University of Maryland discovered that most Americans believe that the United States spends 24 percent of the annual federal budget on foreign aid! In reality, it is only a tiny fraction of that. In fact, as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, we are dead last (0.14 percent) among all industrialized nations in official development assistance. (Thankfully, the large amount of American private relief and development funds improves that figure a little, but only a little.)

PRISM 2005

40

What can be done? We can make changes in our personal lifestyles, our churches, and our public policy. Each of us can, in the words of a Catholic saint, “begin to live more simply so that others may simply live.” Less money spent on new clothes, new cars, large houses, and expensive vacations can mean life rather than death if we share those resources through effective Christian development organizations. If we used just 1 percent of global Christian income for microloans, we could raise the income of the poorest 1 billion people in the world by 50 percent—within one year!

Our churches need to preach on more texts like Proverbs 19:17—“He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord”— and then reallocate church budgets so they are consistent with the hundreds of biblical texts that talk about God’s concern for the poor.

Finally, we need to change public policy: forgiving much more of the debt of the most heavily indebted countries; increasing economic foreign aid to combat poverty,AIDS, and other preventable diseases; and making international trade more fair.

The huge amount of farm subsidies in rich nations is another thing that must change. Just one example: Farmers in Africa can produce cotton for about onethird the cost of producing cotton in the United States. But in a recent year, the U.S. government gave out $3.9 billion in subsidies to 25,000 American cotton farmers—more than the entire GDP for the African country of Burkina Faso, where more than 2 million people depend on cotton for their livelihood It would take only a small percent of our incredible wealth to dramatically reduce poverty in our world. As you (rightly) support the victims of the Asian tsunami, remember that a quiet, largely hidden tsunami kills well over 200,000 people every week. And that will continue year after year after year unless you and I decide to change it. ■

RON SIDER

A Tsunami Every Week News about the ghastly devastation caused by the Asian tsunami rolled in day after day as I was finishing the revisions for the fifth edition of my Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger—20,000 dead…then 50,000,100,000,175,000. The final count could easily reach 200,000 lives suddenly snuffed out by the raging ocean.

People of the world rightly recoiled in horror and then swiftly launched a massive global effort to save those the sea had spared.

Such an enormous death toll is truly awful. But far more than that number of people die unnecessarily every week— this week, next week, and every week— because of poverty the rich world chooses largely to ignore. Every day 30,000 children die of starvation and diseases we know how to prevent—210,000 dead (counting only the children) every week.

That means that more than 52 times as many children die unnecessarily from poverty every year as those who perished in the year-end tsunami.

According to the World Bank, 1.2 billion people struggle to survive on just one dollar a day.Another 1.6 billion live on less than two dollars a day.That kind of poverty means inadequate food, lack of clean water and sanitation, inadequate or no medical care, and therefore unnecessary disease, brain damage, and illiteracy.

In 2004 the World Bank reported that 1 billion people lack access to safe water and 2.5 billion have no access to improved sanitation, and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 6,000 children die every day from these two causes alone. The WHO reports that 13 million people die each year from diseases like diarrhea, malaria, and tuberculosis that we know how to

prevent or cure.

According to the WHO, it would only take about $3 billion more invested each year in preventive care in poorer nations to save 5 million people. Can Americans, who spend $30-$50 billion each year on weight-loss diets, not give one-tenth of that to save 5 million people a year?

AIDS is one of the most deadly killers of the poor. In rich nations, most people with AIDS receive expensive drugs that can enable them to live largely normal lives. But in Africa, where half of the world’s 48 million AIDS victims live, only three to four percent of those who need these life-saving drugs receive them.Why? Because even though the price of these drugs in Africa has dropped enormously in the last two to three years, most people still cannot afford them. A careful study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimated that just $27 billion (far less than the rich world spends on golf each year) spent over eight years would prevent 30 million poor people from getting infected with HIV/AIDS. According to the United Nations, 20 percent of those living in the richest nations are at least 74 times as rich as 20 percent of those living in the poorest nations. In fact, the richest 25 million Americans enjoy as much income as the poorest 2 billion people in the world.

Part of the tragedy is that American citizens think we are far more generous than we are.A 2001 poll by the University of Maryland discovered that most Americans believe that the United States spends 24 percent of the annual federal budget on foreign aid! In reality, it is only a tiny fraction of that. In fact, as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, we are dead last (0.14 percent) among all industrialized nations in official development assistance. (Thankfully, the large amount of American private relief and development funds improves that figure a little, but only a little.)

PRISM 2005

40

What can be done? We can make changes in our personal lifestyles, our churches, and our public policy. Each of us can, in the words of a Catholic saint, “begin to live more simply so that others may simply live.” Less money spent on new clothes, new cars, large houses, and expensive vacations can mean life rather than death if we share those resources through effective Christian development organizations. If we used just 1 percent of global Christian income for microloans, we could raise the income of the poorest 1 billion people in the world by 50 percent—within one year!

Our churches need to preach on more texts like Proverbs 19:17—“He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord”— and then reallocate church budgets so they are consistent with the hundreds of biblical texts that talk about God’s concern for the poor.

Finally, we need to change public policy: forgiving much more of the debt of the most heavily indebted countries; increasing economic foreign aid to combat poverty,AIDS, and other preventable diseases; and making international trade more fair.

The huge amount of farm subsidies in rich nations is another thing that must change. Just one example: Farmers in Africa can produce cotton for about onethird the cost of producing cotton in the United States. But in a recent year, the U.S. government gave out $3.9 billion in subsidies to 25,000 American cotton farmers—more than the entire GDP for the African country of Burkina Faso, where more than 2 million people depend on cotton for their livelihood It would take only a small percent of our incredible wealth to dramatically reduce poverty in our world. As you (rightly) support the victims of the Asian tsunami, remember that a quiet, largely hidden tsunami kills well over 200,000 people every week. And that will continue year after year after year unless you and I decide to change it. ■

RON SIDER

Holy Week, American Poverty, and Faithful Discipleship Two things prompt me to think about domestic poverty right now. The first is that my publisher has encouraged me to do a second edition of Just Generosity: A New Vision for Overcoming Poverty in America, which came out in 1999, and I am in the final stages of the update.

The second is that Christian Churches Together (CCT) has decided to make domestic poverty the issue for discussion and reflection at its annual gathering this year. When officially launched this year, CCT will be the first ever truly ecumenical group in this country because denominations from all the major church families have decided to join.

I have been privileged to serve on the steering committee from the beginning.

From March 28-31 CCT will hold its annual meeting in Atlanta, and domestic poverty will be discussed at six different times in the program. As chair of the committee preparing the materials and agenda for these sessions, I need your prayers.

As we think toward Holy Week, it is highly appropriate that we ponder poverty in light of Good Friday and Easter.

Jesus was crucified—in part—for his radical words and actions about poverty, wealth, and oppression. Yes, he went to the Cross as the atonement for our sins and because he angered the religious leaders with his claim to be the Son of God. But he also upset the establishment by driving the money changers out of the temple for turning the place of prayer into a den of thieves. Early on in his ministry Jesus said he had come to heal

the sick and preach the gospel to the poor.

Later he told the rich young man to sell all his possessions and give them to the poor. He said it was almost impossible for rich people to enter the kingdom, and he commanded people to make loans to the poor even if they had no hope of being repaid. All that would have been quite enough to make the rich establishment want to be rid of him. So that is part of why Good Friday came to be.

But it is only Good Friday because Easter followed on the third day. The Resurrection demonstrated that Jesus was right about the arrival of the Messianic kingdom, a reality God had promised would correct injustice and empower the poor as they joined the dawning kingdom.

Among many other things, Easter means good news for the oppressed. Since the Resurrection, a new kingdom, a dramatically new community of Jesus’ disciples, has been emerging where the poor can experience love and justice.

So Holy Week is the perfect time to talk about the facts of domestic poverty.

What are the facts?

In the last four years, as the U.S. economy has recovered, more and more people—about 1 million more per year!

—have fallen into poverty. In this richest nation in human history, 37 million Americans are poor. That means their income is so low that a family of four does not reach the poverty cap of $19,157.

Less than half the poor are black and Latino, but the poverty rates for minorities are double those for whites.

One reason for this rise in poverty is that the wages for men without a college degree have fallen dramatically in the past 30 years—even when they work full-time. From 1979-2003, male highschool dropouts saw average hourly wages decline 20 percent in real dollars.

Part of the problem is the absurdly low minimum wage—just $5.15 per hour.

In 1968 and 1975, the real value of the minimum wage meant that a full-time worker receiving the minimum wage PRISM 2006

40

earned a salary equal to the poverty level for a family of three. In 2004 that same full-time worker’s wages were just 68 percent of the poverty level.

At the same time that the poor—even full-time working poor—are losing ground, the rich are getting much richer.

In 1974 the richest fifth enjoyed seven times as much income as the poorest fifth.

By 2003, the richest fifth had an annual income 12 times that of the poorest fifth.

The richest 1 percent of Americans has more wealth than the bottom 90 percent!

CEO salaries illustrate the outrage.

In 1960 CEOs made approximately 41 times the salary of the average factory worker. In 2004 it was 431 times as much.

If the minimum wage had risen at the same rate as CEO pay since 1990, the minimum hourly wage today would be $20.03 not $5.15!

In spite of all that, Republicans in Congress have been working to cut the budget deficit (caused substantially by tax cuts for the rich and the war in Iraq) by cutting programs for the poor.

What’s wrong with this picture? It flatly contradicts the biblical call to seek justice for the poor. God measures societies by what they do to (or for) the people at the bottom.

Easter, however, is no time for despair.

Easter means that the Messianic kingdom is breaking powerfully into history. And that means, in part, that Jesus’ new community of disciples is empowered to be a robust voice for the poor. Fortunately, a movement is growing all across the American church to demand that this nation change its priorities and make overcoming poverty an urgent agenda.

Please pray that the Holy Spirit will move the hearts and minds of the dozens of top U.S. denominational leaders meeting in Atlanta. Pray that they catch God’s vision of justice for poor Americans.

Then, this Easter, rejoice in the fantastic news that the Messianic kingdom is breaking into history—and live in a way that demonstrates you truly believe it. ■

RON SIDER

Holy Week, American Poverty, and Faithful Discipleship Two things prompt me to think about domestic poverty right now. The first is that my publisher has encouraged me to do a second edition of Just Generosity: A New Vision for Overcoming Poverty in America, which came out in 1999, and I am in the final stages of the update.

The second is that Christian Churches Together (CCT) has decided to make domestic poverty the issue for discussion and reflection at its annual gathering this year. When officially launched this year, CCT will be the first ever truly ecumenical group in this country because denominations from all the major church families have decided to join.

I have been privileged to serve on the steering committee from the beginning.

From March 28-31 CCT will hold its annual meeting in Atlanta, and domestic poverty will be discussed at six different times in the program. As chair of the committee preparing the materials and agenda for these sessions, I need your prayers.

As we think toward Holy Week, it is highly appropriate that we ponder poverty in light of Good Friday and Easter.

Jesus was crucified—in part—for his radical words and actions about poverty, wealth, and oppression. Yes, he went to the Cross as the atonement for our sins and because he angered the religious leaders with his claim to be the Son of God. But he also upset the establishment by driving the money changers out of the temple for turning the place of prayer into a den of thieves. Early on in his ministry Jesus said he had come to heal

the sick and preach the gospel to the poor.

Later he told the rich young man to sell all his possessions and give them to the poor. He said it was almost impossible for rich people to enter the kingdom, and he commanded people to make loans to the poor even if they had no hope of being repaid. All that would have been quite enough to make the rich establishment want to be rid of him. So that is part of why Good Friday came to be.

But it is only Good Friday because Easter followed on the third day. The Resurrection demonstrated that Jesus was right about the arrival of the Messianic kingdom, a reality God had promised would correct injustice and empower the poor as they joined the dawning kingdom.

Among many other things, Easter means good news for the oppressed. Since the Resurrection, a new kingdom, a dramatically new community of Jesus’ disciples, has been emerging where the poor can experience love and justice.

So Holy Week is the perfect time to talk about the facts of domestic poverty.

What are the facts?

In the last four years, as the U.S. economy has recovered, more and more people—about 1 million more per year!

—have fallen into poverty. In this richest nation in human history, 37 million Americans are poor. That means their income is so low that a family of four does not reach the poverty cap of $19,157.

Less than half the poor are black and Latino, but the poverty rates for minorities are double those for whites.

One reason for this rise in poverty is that the wages for men without a college degree have fallen dramatically in the past 30 years—even when they work full-time. From 1979-2003, male highschool dropouts saw average hourly wages decline 20 percent in real dollars.

Part of the problem is the absurdly low minimum wage—just $5.15 per hour.

In 1968 and 1975, the real value of the minimum wage meant that a full-time worker receiving the minimum wage PRISM 2006

40

earned a salary equal to the poverty level for a family of three. In 2004 that same full-time worker’s wages were just 68 percent of the poverty level.

At the same time that the poor—even full-time working poor—are losing ground, the rich are getting much richer.

In 1974 the richest fifth enjoyed seven times as much income as the poorest fifth.

By 2003, the richest fifth had an annual income 12 times that of the poorest fifth.

The richest 1 percent of Americans has more wealth than the bottom 90 percent!

CEO salaries illustrate the outrage.

In 1960 CEOs made approximately 41 times the salary of the average factory worker. In 2004 it was 431 times as much.

If the minimum wage had risen at the same rate as CEO pay since 1990, the minimum hourly wage today would be $20.03 not $5.15!

In spite of all that, Republicans in Congress have been working to cut the budget deficit (caused substantially by tax cuts for the rich and the war in Iraq) by cutting programs for the poor.

What’s wrong with this picture? It flatly contradicts the biblical call to seek justice for the poor. God measures societies by what they do to (or for) the people at the bottom.

Easter, however, is no time for despair.

Easter means that the Messianic kingdom is breaking powerfully into history. And that means, in part, that Jesus’ new community of disciples is empowered to be a robust voice for the poor. Fortunately, a movement is growing all across the American church to demand that this nation change its priorities and make overcoming poverty an urgent agenda.

Please pray that the Holy Spirit will move the hearts and minds of the dozens of top U.S. denominational leaders meeting in Atlanta. Pray that they catch God’s vision of justice for poor Americans.

Then, this Easter, rejoice in the fantastic news that the Messianic kingdom is breaking into history—and live in a way that demonstrates you truly believe it. ■

RON SIDER But if at that moment of death, it is true that Christ is risen—and that we, too, shall be raised from the dead to live forever in the presence of the Risen Lord—then again, nothing else matters.

Compared to life for all eternity with the Lord of the universe, even Dr. Pelikan’s The back page of the most recent news- astounding academic achievements as letter from the Yale Graduate School perhaps the most brilliant living scholar Department of History was devoted to of Christian history simply fade into the life of my doctoral advisor, Jaroslav insignificance.

Especially at Easter, Pelikan’s aphoPelikan (1923-2006). But, for me, it was not the long list of outstanding academic rism provides perspective and hope. He achievements that was most moving. certainly is not saying that life here on earth is unimportant. God created us as Rather it was his final aphorism.

To be sure, Pelikan’s academic suc- body/soul unities designed to revel in the cess was stunning. He could read by age goodness of creation. Christian scholar2 and earned both an MDiv and a PhD ship is significant and worthy of our best by age 22. He published almost 40 books efforts. But Pelikan reminds us that all and was awarded 42 honorary degrees. of that goodness and success pales in He was named the Jefferson Lecturer in comparison with eternal life. It is betHumanities (the highest honor the fed- ter, Jesus said, to lose the whole world eral government confers for distinguished than to lose our relationship with the intellectual achievement). He was pres- living God. Perhaps one sees that most clearly ident of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, chair of the board of the when facing death. But it is true for all American Academy of Political and of us, whether we have a month or five Social Sciences, and founding chair of the more decades to live. If Christ is risen, Council of Scholars at the Library of Congress. The list goes on and on. But that is not what amazed me.

The Yale History Department (both when I was there in the ’60s and now) is a very secular place. But in their tribute to this distinguished Sterling Professor Emeritus of History, they noted that toward the end of his long battle with cancer Pelikan provided the last of his many striking aphorims: “If Christ is risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—nothing else matters.”

Dying from cancer, Pelikan knew that if death ends human existence—if, as Bertrand Russell said, we die, rot, and disappear forever—then nothing else matters. No matter what fame we have achieved, all is finished. No amount of joy, success, honor for a few short decades matters much anymore. It is over and we disappear into nothingness.

if the truth about reality is that we can accept Christ’s offer to live with him forever, then nothing else matters as much as gladly accepting that invitation.

No matter what our age, we should rejoice in and live out that truth. We rightly work hard; shape scholarship, culture, and society to the best of our ability; and delight in the goodness of this material world for whatever years the Creator gives us. But we know that our short sojourn here is not all-important. It is just the beginning of life eternal.

As a result, neither success nor failure is all-important.We can let go of frantic grasping for success.We can accept temporary failure or even premature death.

Because Christ is risen indeed.

When I read this astounding witness to the center of Christian faith in my Yale Graduate School newsletter, I felt like weeping for joy. Even in the most secular sectors of contemporary life, there is still a powerful witness to the truth of Easter.

Christ is risen. And nothing else matters as much as this glorious gospel truth. ■

“...nothing else matters.”

PRISM 2008

48

Angilla S, Shutterstock

“If Christ Is Risen…”

RON SIDER But if at that moment of death, it is true that Christ is risen—and that we, too, shall be raised from the dead to live forever in the presence of the Risen Lord—then again, nothing else matters.

Compared to life for all eternity with the Lord of the universe, even Dr. Pelikan’s The back page of the most recent news- astounding academic achievements as letter from the Yale Graduate School perhaps the most brilliant living scholar Department of History was devoted to of Christian history simply fade into the life of my doctoral advisor, Jaroslav insignificance.

Especially at Easter, Pelikan’s aphoPelikan (1923-2006). But, for me, it was not the long list of outstanding academic rism provides perspective and hope. He achievements that was most moving. certainly is not saying that life here on earth is unimportant. God created us as Rather it was his final aphorism.

To be sure, Pelikan’s academic suc- body/soul unities designed to revel in the cess was stunning. He could read by age goodness of creation. Christian scholar2 and earned both an MDiv and a PhD ship is significant and worthy of our best by age 22. He published almost 40 books efforts. But Pelikan reminds us that all and was awarded 42 honorary degrees. of that goodness and success pales in He was named the Jefferson Lecturer in comparison with eternal life. It is betHumanities (the highest honor the fed- ter, Jesus said, to lose the whole world eral government confers for distinguished than to lose our relationship with the intellectual achievement). He was pres- living God. Perhaps one sees that most clearly ident of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, chair of the board of the when facing death. But it is true for all American Academy of Political and of us, whether we have a month or five Social Sciences, and founding chair of the more decades to live. If Christ is risen, Council of Scholars at the Library of Congress. The list goes on and on. But that is not what amazed me.

The Yale History Department (both when I was there in the ’60s and now) is a very secular place. But in their tribute to this distinguished Sterling Professor Emeritus of History, they noted that toward the end of his long battle with cancer Pelikan provided the last of his many striking aphorims: “If Christ is risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—nothing else matters.”

Dying from cancer, Pelikan knew that if death ends human existence—if, as Bertrand Russell said, we die, rot, and disappear forever—then nothing else matters. No matter what fame we have achieved, all is finished. No amount of joy, success, honor for a few short decades matters much anymore. It is over and we disappear into nothingness.

if the truth about reality is that we can accept Christ’s offer to live with him forever, then nothing else matters as much as gladly accepting that invitation.

No matter what our age, we should rejoice in and live out that truth. We rightly work hard; shape scholarship, culture, and society to the best of our ability; and delight in the goodness of this material world for whatever years the Creator gives us. But we know that our short sojourn here is not all-important. It is just the beginning of life eternal.

As a result, neither success nor failure is all-important.We can let go of frantic grasping for success.We can accept temporary failure or even premature death.

Because Christ is risen indeed.

When I read this astounding witness to the center of Christian faith in my Yale Graduate School newsletter, I felt like weeping for joy. Even in the most secular sectors of contemporary life, there is still a powerful witness to the truth of Easter.

Christ is risen. And nothing else matters as much as this glorious gospel truth. ■

“...nothing else matters.”

PRISM 2008

48

Angilla S, Shutterstock

“If Christ Is Risen…”

RON SIDER

Organizing the New Center

of Evangelicals’ historic declaration in 2004, “For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility.” And in the last few years, prominent megachurch pastors—Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Joel Hunter, and Richard Nathan—have clearly and publicly proSomething astonishing has happened in moted this broader agenda.

A new, very important possibility the past few years in evangelical circles.An emerging evangelical center has replaced now presents itself. If it is possible to the religious right as the dominant group organize this new evangelical center, we in the evangelical world. A national poll could work with others who share a taken right after the election last November broad pro-life vision to profoundly change revealed an encouraging trend:A majority American public life.

Why do I say “if”? First, because I know (55 percent) of evangelicals want a political agenda that deals with both the more that there is no unified political vision in personal issues of abortion/family/marriage the evangelical world, even if the recent and the more corporate issues of economic poll is correct in identifying a widespread justice/creation care/peacemaking. (Of the embrace of a broadly “completely pro-life” remaining evangelicals polled, 21 percent agenda. And second, because the evanstill prefer a political agenda primarily gelical world is enormously decentralized concerned with abortion and family, and organizationally. It is composed of hun18 percent want to focus primarily on dreds of separate denominations, thousands of disconnected parachurch organizations, poverty, creation care, and peacemaking.)

That is a dramatic rejection of the reli- and a vast variety of disconnected, indegious right, which for more than two pendent leaders and groups.

We must somehow discover a process decades has promoted a much narrower that respects the un-hierarchical, decenagenda. What happened?

Many things. Ever since World Vision tralized reality of the evangelical world started about 50 years ago as a Korean while effectively nurturing widespread orphans’ choir raising funds for a few cooperation on our common agenda.

The starting point for wide-scale orphanages, evangelical relief and development agencies have been steadily grow- evangelical cooperation is almost always ing in numbers, scope, and skill. Over a biblically grounded declaration that several decades, evangelical leaders have large numbers of prominent evangelical turned away from their earlier view that gatekeepers endorse.The NAE’s widely Christians should be primarily focused on endorsed “For the Health of the Nation” evangelism and have come to embrace may serve this purpose.

Then several dozen of the evangelical holistic mission, understanding that both evangelism and social action are impor- world’s prominent leaders and their orgatant for biblical Christians. More slowly, nizations would need to form a new but then powerfully and visibly in the last network for the explicit purpose of coopfive years, many evangelicals have endorsed erating to shape public life on the basis of their common declaration.We do not creation care as a biblical mandate.

For decades, a few of us protested the want or need a new organization. Rather narrow political agenda of the religious we need a new network that enables right as unbiblical, not primarily in what large numbers of existing organizations it affirmed, but in what it ignored. Slowly to coordinate their efforts. A large counmomentum built for a broader agenda, cil of reference of distinguished evangelicrystallizing in the National Association cal leaders would be important. So would PRISM 2009

40

regular meetings of the leaders of the major cooperating organizations and a small staff for the network.

It would be essential to organize in such a way that not all members of the network would need to affirm and work on every concrete initiative. Specific programs (whether on overcoming poverty, reducing abortion, or promoting marriage or creation care) could be done under the general umbrella of the whole network but in the name of the leaders and organizations that sign on to that specific program.

Exactly how to structure the network so that effective, sustained cooperation happens is only dimly clear. It will require wisdom, patience, and creative experimentation. But it must be done, because the potential results are far-reaching.

If white evangelicals truly embraced this broader agenda, several influential partners would be ready to work with us.

The Vatican and the US Catholic bishops already officially promote an agenda that is strikingly similar to the NAE’s “For the Health of the Nation.”The rapidly growing Latino evangelical world is conservative on abortion and family but wants strong action on economic justice and immigration reform. African American Christians do not use the word “evangelical” and have no interest in cooperation with white evangelicals unconcerned with racism and overcoming poverty. But African Americans also have conservative views on abortion and marriage and would gladly join a coalition with white evangelicals and Catholics that was seriously committed to racial and economic justice.

Obviously, what I propose is a 20-year project. To succeed we must think more deeply, cooperate more vigorously, and learn how to engage public life in a civil, sustained, sophisticated way.

We must also be clear that politics is not of ultimate importance and at best will produce limited, imperfect results.We must hold our political views lightly, always Continued on page 2.

Talk back LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Rusty Pritchard’s September/October 2008 A Different Shade of Green column was about the need for a middle ground in the global warming debate between “the environmentalists” and “those on the right” who claim that there is major controversy among climate scientists as to whether people are to blame for global warming. The environmentalists were characterized as having “a not-so-latent misanthropy for the world’s poor.” Wow. We would not characterize either side of the public debate in this way. However, those pushing for urgent action, such as Al Gore, seem far more concerned for the poor as they warn of the disastrous effects of inaction, which are expected to primarily hit the poor. In contrast, Exxon, the main funder of global warming naysayers, who bankrolled “research” to cast doubt on the human impact on global warming (as did the tobacco industry with the smoking impact on cancer), seems more concerned with profits than with the poor. Characterizing the public debate this way is misleading. Most people would think the author’s criticism of “environmentalists” applies to those like Al Gore, who is highly regarded as the authoritative voice on global warming and who received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.

Rather, Gore’s call to action mirrors those of the Evangelical Environmental Network,whose GlobalWarming Briefing for Evangelical Leaders states that the

possible consequences of global warming include the death of millions of people in this century. “Global warming is projected to hit the poor the hardest,” the briefing states, “and such impacts are already starting to occur.” They summarize why urgency is required: (1) it’s happening now; (2) the global warming pollution we create now will continue to harm our children and grandchildren throughout this century; and (3) we’re making long-term decisions now that will impact how much pollution we create for decades.

Seeking to move the debate to a “middle ground” closer to the naysayers is actually harmful to the poor, and we know this is not your intent. Therefore we were much encouraged by Pritchard’s January/February 2009 column, “The Danger of Derivatives,” where he points out that the accusations of legalism, judgmentalism, and hypocrisy that some Christians have leveled at environmentalists are the same that they themselves have been tarred with by detractors. He calls for Christian environmentalists to be a different shade of green: more humble, less judgmental of the shortcomings of others, more aware of our own shortcomings. And above all, a hue of environmentalism that follows the biblical call to love the poor and give voice to their needs.

The Francis-Lyon family Berkeley, Ca.

Ron Sider continued from page 40.

dramatically reduce poverty here and around the globe; renew vast numbers of two-parent families; avoid the worst dangers of global climate change and preserve God’s creation for our grandchildren; restore respect for the sanctity of human life; and nurture a more peaceful, just, democratic world.

That would still be a broken sinful world. But I would dearly love to pass on to my grandchildren a somewhat better world than the current disastrous mess. n

remembering that our common membership in the body of Christ is far more significant than even the deepest political disagreements.

But limited, imperfect results are still significant. If the new evangelical center could organize itself and cooperate with others of like mind, we could over the next 20 years accomplish the following: PRISM 2009

3

RON SIDER

Organizing the New Center

of Evangelicals’ historic declaration in 2004, “For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility.” And in the last few years, prominent megachurch pastors—Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Joel Hunter, and Richard Nathan—have clearly and publicly proSomething astonishing has happened in moted this broader agenda.

A new, very important possibility the past few years in evangelical circles.An emerging evangelical center has replaced now presents itself. If it is possible to the religious right as the dominant group organize this new evangelical center, we in the evangelical world. A national poll could work with others who share a taken right after the election last November broad pro-life vision to profoundly change revealed an encouraging trend:A majority American public life.

Why do I say “if”? First, because I know (55 percent) of evangelicals want a political agenda that deals with both the more that there is no unified political vision in personal issues of abortion/family/marriage the evangelical world, even if the recent and the more corporate issues of economic poll is correct in identifying a widespread justice/creation care/peacemaking. (Of the embrace of a broadly “completely pro-life” remaining evangelicals polled, 21 percent agenda. And second, because the evanstill prefer a political agenda primarily gelical world is enormously decentralized concerned with abortion and family, and organizationally. It is composed of hun18 percent want to focus primarily on dreds of separate denominations, thousands of disconnected parachurch organizations, poverty, creation care, and peacemaking.)

That is a dramatic rejection of the reli- and a vast variety of disconnected, indegious right, which for more than two pendent leaders and groups.

We must somehow discover a process decades has promoted a much narrower that respects the un-hierarchical, decenagenda. What happened?

Many things. Ever since World Vision tralized reality of the evangelical world started about 50 years ago as a Korean while effectively nurturing widespread orphans’ choir raising funds for a few cooperation on our common agenda.

The starting point for wide-scale orphanages, evangelical relief and development agencies have been steadily grow- evangelical cooperation is almost always ing in numbers, scope, and skill. Over a biblically grounded declaration that several decades, evangelical leaders have large numbers of prominent evangelical turned away from their earlier view that gatekeepers endorse.The NAE’s widely Christians should be primarily focused on endorsed “For the Health of the Nation” evangelism and have come to embrace may serve this purpose.

Then several dozen of the evangelical holistic mission, understanding that both evangelism and social action are impor- world’s prominent leaders and their orgatant for biblical Christians. More slowly, nizations would need to form a new but then powerfully and visibly in the last network for the explicit purpose of coopfive years, many evangelicals have endorsed erating to shape public life on the basis of their common declaration.We do not creation care as a biblical mandate.

For decades, a few of us protested the want or need a new organization. Rather narrow political agenda of the religious we need a new network that enables right as unbiblical, not primarily in what large numbers of existing organizations it affirmed, but in what it ignored. Slowly to coordinate their efforts. A large counmomentum built for a broader agenda, cil of reference of distinguished evangelicrystallizing in the National Association cal leaders would be important. So would PRISM 2009

40

regular meetings of the leaders of the major cooperating organizations and a small staff for the network.

It would be essential to organize in such a way that not all members of the network would need to affirm and work on every concrete initiative. Specific programs (whether on overcoming poverty, reducing abortion, or promoting marriage or creation care) could be done under the general umbrella of the whole network but in the name of the leaders and organizations that sign on to that specific program.

Exactly how to structure the network so that effective, sustained cooperation happens is only dimly clear. It will require wisdom, patience, and creative experimentation. But it must be done, because the potential results are far-reaching.

If white evangelicals truly embraced this broader agenda, several influential partners would be ready to work with us.

The Vatican and the US Catholic bishops already officially promote an agenda that is strikingly similar to the NAE’s “For the Health of the Nation.”The rapidly growing Latino evangelical world is conservative on abortion and family but wants strong action on economic justice and immigration reform. African American Christians do not use the word “evangelical” and have no interest in cooperation with white evangelicals unconcerned with racism and overcoming poverty. But African Americans also have conservative views on abortion and marriage and would gladly join a coalition with white evangelicals and Catholics that was seriously committed to racial and economic justice.

Obviously, what I propose is a 20-year project. To succeed we must think more deeply, cooperate more vigorously, and learn how to engage public life in a civil, sustained, sophisticated way.

We must also be clear that politics is not of ultimate importance and at best will produce limited, imperfect results.We must hold our political views lightly, always Continued on page 2.

Talk back LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Rusty Pritchard’s September/October 2008 A Different Shade of Green column was about the need for a middle ground in the global warming debate between “the environmentalists” and “those on the right” who claim that there is major controversy among climate scientists as to whether people are to blame for global warming. The environmentalists were characterized as having “a not-so-latent misanthropy for the world’s poor.” Wow. We would not characterize either side of the public debate in this way. However, those pushing for urgent action, such as Al Gore, seem far more concerned for the poor as they warn of the disastrous effects of inaction, which are expected to primarily hit the poor. In contrast, Exxon, the main funder of global warming naysayers, who bankrolled “research” to cast doubt on the human impact on global warming (as did the tobacco industry with the smoking impact on cancer), seems more concerned with profits than with the poor. Characterizing the public debate this way is misleading. Most people would think the author’s criticism of “environmentalists” applies to those like Al Gore, who is highly regarded as the authoritative voice on global warming and who received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.

Rather, Gore’s call to action mirrors those of the Evangelical Environmental Network,whose GlobalWarming Briefing for Evangelical Leaders states that the

possible consequences of global warming include the death of millions of people in this century. “Global warming is projected to hit the poor the hardest,” the briefing states, “and such impacts are already starting to occur.” They summarize why urgency is required: (1) it’s happening now; (2) the global warming pollution we create now will continue to harm our children and grandchildren throughout this century; and (3) we’re making long-term decisions now that will impact how much pollution we create for decades.

Seeking to move the debate to a “middle ground” closer to the naysayers is actually harmful to the poor, and we know this is not your intent. Therefore we were much encouraged by Pritchard’s January/February 2009 column, “The Danger of Derivatives,” where he points out that the accusations of legalism, judgmentalism, and hypocrisy that some Christians have leveled at environmentalists are the same that they themselves have been tarred with by detractors. He calls for Christian environmentalists to be a different shade of green: more humble, less judgmental of the shortcomings of others, more aware of our own shortcomings. And above all, a hue of environmentalism that follows the biblical call to love the poor and give voice to their needs.

The Francis-Lyon family Berkeley, Ca.

Ron Sider continued from page 40.

dramatically reduce poverty here and around the globe; renew vast numbers of two-parent families; avoid the worst dangers of global climate change and preserve God’s creation for our grandchildren; restore respect for the sanctity of human life; and nurture a more peaceful, just, democratic world.

That would still be a broken sinful world. But I would dearly love to pass on to my grandchildren a somewhat better world than the current disastrous mess. n

remembering that our common membership in the body of Christ is far more significant than even the deepest political disagreements.

But limited, imperfect results are still significant. If the new evangelical center could organize itself and cooperate with others of like mind, we could over the next 20 years accomplish the following: PRISM 2009

3

RON SIDER

An Easter Meditation on the Carpenter

tury Jews knew such polytheistic notions were false—indeed blasphemous. “The Lord our God is One” was the central creed of first-century Jews.

For some reason, however, a large number of strictly monotheistic firstcentury Jews — including the highly trained orthodox rabbi Saul of Tarsus — began telling the world that a particAccording to the gospel account,Thomas ular carpenter from Nazareth was God flatly refused to believe the other disci- in the flesh. “For God was pleased to ples’ report that the crucified Jesus was have all his fullness dwell in him” (Col. alive. Unless he personally probed the 1:9). “The Son is the radiance of God’s wounds in Jesus’ hands and side, he glory and the exact representation of his insisted, he would not believe such fan- being” (Heb. 1:3). “In the beginning tasy. But when the risen Christ stepped was the Word, and the Word was with into the room, he could only utter in God, and the Word was God … [and] the amazed awe: “My Lord and my God” Word became flesh” (John 1:1, 14).

How can one explain such statements (John 20:28).

In Philippians 2 (written roughly 30 from the mouths of rigid monotheists? years after the crucifixion), Paul declares It was certainly not that they doubted that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus What the early disciples Christ is Lord (Phil. 2:10-11).Two things make this statement utterly astonishing. experienced forced them to First, Paul is quoting from Isaiah radically rethink their most 45:23 where Yahweh mocks the idols central theological belief. and declares in a thoroughly monotheistic vein that he alone is God:“Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue Jesus’ humanity. Some of them had spent will swear.” Paul takes these intensely three years eating, drinking, and walking monotheistic words from the mouth of the dusty roads of Palestine with this carthe one God and applies them to the penter-turned-preacher.

The only plausible explanation is that carpenter from Nazareth. Furthermore, he calls Jesus “Lord” (kurios) — the word astonishing things happened to these used in the Greek translation of the Old monotheistic Jews that compelled them Testament to translate the word Yahweh. to believe that the One God of the Paul is clearly asserting that Jesus the car- universe had somehow become flesh in the carpenter they knew so well. Even penter is not just Messiah but God. The second reason this statement by during his public ministry, to be sure, Jesus Paul (and similar ones by Thomas and had made claims that perplexed them. He other Christians) is so astounding is that not only said he was the long-expected Paul — and the others — were all devout Messiah, but he also claimed divine Jews. The most important, the most authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:10). distinctive characteristic of first-century He announced that he was Lord of the Jewish belief was its strict monotheism. Sabbath (Mark 2:28) and at his trial even Lots of people in the first century acknowledged that he was the Son of believed there were many gods and god- God (Mark 14:61-62).

All through the New Testament it is desses — and they sometimes ran around doing very strange things. But first-cen- clear that it was the disciples’ experience PRISM 2 0 1 0

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of the risen Jesus — in spite of important parts of their prior belief system — that convinced them that his claims were true. The resurrection compelled them to make seemingly blasphemous statements about the carpenter. In fact Saul, the highly educated rabbi, was so furious with this blasphemy that he worked fervently to execute Jesus’ early followers — until he, too, met the risen Jesus. What the early disciples experienced forced them to radically rethink their most central theological belief.

To be sure, it took several centuries for the church to think carefully through how God who is truly One exists as three persons. They also wrestled for centuries about how to understand that the carpenter from Nazareth is both true God and true man. But when we ponder the utterly stunning things that Christians for 20 centuries have said about Jesus, it is crucial to remember that the reason the earliest Christians began to say these things was that events happened among them that simply compelled them to such affirmation. When they reflected both on what Jesus said and did and also on the astonishing events of Easter, strict monotheistic Jews could only bow and exclaim: “My Lord and my God.” But these early Christians did not just make awesome claims about Jesus.They started to live what he taught.They never supposed that embracing proper theological doctrine was enough to make one a good Christian.They also knew that they must obey the One they worshipped. As they traveled everywhere inviting all who would listen to embrace the Good News about Jesus, they sought to care for the poor, love their enemies, and keep their marriage vows just as Jesus had taught them. Precisely because they knew he was God Incarnate, they knew they must, in the power of the risen Lord, also live like Jesus.

This Easter, let’s bow with Thomas and worship. But let’s also obey the One we adore. n

RON SIDER

An Easter Meditation on the Carpenter

tury Jews knew such polytheistic notions were false—indeed blasphemous. “The Lord our God is One” was the central creed of first-century Jews.

For some reason, however, a large number of strictly monotheistic firstcentury Jews — including the highly trained orthodox rabbi Saul of Tarsus — began telling the world that a particAccording to the gospel account,Thomas ular carpenter from Nazareth was God flatly refused to believe the other disci- in the flesh. “For God was pleased to ples’ report that the crucified Jesus was have all his fullness dwell in him” (Col. alive. Unless he personally probed the 1:9). “The Son is the radiance of God’s wounds in Jesus’ hands and side, he glory and the exact representation of his insisted, he would not believe such fan- being” (Heb. 1:3). “In the beginning tasy. But when the risen Christ stepped was the Word, and the Word was with into the room, he could only utter in God, and the Word was God … [and] the amazed awe: “My Lord and my God” Word became flesh” (John 1:1, 14).

How can one explain such statements (John 20:28).

In Philippians 2 (written roughly 30 from the mouths of rigid monotheists? years after the crucifixion), Paul declares It was certainly not that they doubted that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus What the early disciples Christ is Lord (Phil. 2:10-11).Two things make this statement utterly astonishing. experienced forced them to First, Paul is quoting from Isaiah radically rethink their most 45:23 where Yahweh mocks the idols central theological belief. and declares in a thoroughly monotheistic vein that he alone is God:“Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue Jesus’ humanity. Some of them had spent will swear.” Paul takes these intensely three years eating, drinking, and walking monotheistic words from the mouth of the dusty roads of Palestine with this carthe one God and applies them to the penter-turned-preacher.

The only plausible explanation is that carpenter from Nazareth. Furthermore, he calls Jesus “Lord” (kurios) — the word astonishing things happened to these used in the Greek translation of the Old monotheistic Jews that compelled them Testament to translate the word Yahweh. to believe that the One God of the Paul is clearly asserting that Jesus the car- universe had somehow become flesh in the carpenter they knew so well. Even penter is not just Messiah but God. The second reason this statement by during his public ministry, to be sure, Jesus Paul (and similar ones by Thomas and had made claims that perplexed them. He other Christians) is so astounding is that not only said he was the long-expected Paul — and the others — were all devout Messiah, but he also claimed divine Jews. The most important, the most authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:10). distinctive characteristic of first-century He announced that he was Lord of the Jewish belief was its strict monotheism. Sabbath (Mark 2:28) and at his trial even Lots of people in the first century acknowledged that he was the Son of believed there were many gods and god- God (Mark 14:61-62).

All through the New Testament it is desses — and they sometimes ran around doing very strange things. But first-cen- clear that it was the disciples’ experience PRISM 2 0 1 0

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of the risen Jesus — in spite of important parts of their prior belief system — that convinced them that his claims were true. The resurrection compelled them to make seemingly blasphemous statements about the carpenter. In fact Saul, the highly educated rabbi, was so furious with this blasphemy that he worked fervently to execute Jesus’ early followers — until he, too, met the risen Jesus. What the early disciples experienced forced them to radically rethink their most central theological belief.

To be sure, it took several centuries for the church to think carefully through how God who is truly One exists as three persons. They also wrestled for centuries about how to understand that the carpenter from Nazareth is both true God and true man. But when we ponder the utterly stunning things that Christians for 20 centuries have said about Jesus, it is crucial to remember that the reason the earliest Christians began to say these things was that events happened among them that simply compelled them to such affirmation. When they reflected both on what Jesus said and did and also on the astonishing events of Easter, strict monotheistic Jews could only bow and exclaim: “My Lord and my God.” But these early Christians did not just make awesome claims about Jesus.They started to live what he taught.They never supposed that embracing proper theological doctrine was enough to make one a good Christian.They also knew that they must obey the One they worshipped. As they traveled everywhere inviting all who would listen to embrace the Good News about Jesus, they sought to care for the poor, love their enemies, and keep their marriage vows just as Jesus had taught them. Precisely because they knew he was God Incarnate, they knew they must, in the power of the risen Lord, also live like Jesus.

This Easter, let’s bow with Thomas and worship. But let’s also obey the One we adore. n

RON SIDER

Looking Back, Looking Ahead: An Exciting Future for ESA I turned 65 this past year. Inevitably, registering for one’s monthly Social Security check focuses the mind and prompts reflection on the past—and the future.

My more than 30 years of involvement with Evangelicals for Social Action have provided some of the highest privileges of my life. I still remember organizing the first meeting in Chicago, over Thanksgiving, 1973, where about 40 older and younger evangelicals drew up a little manifesto, The Chicago Declaration of Evangelical Social Concern, which instantly attracted a lot of media attention. In fact, the Chicago Sun Times commented that perhaps the Thanksgiving workshop was the most important church-related event of 1973. Among many other things, it led in 1978 to the launch of ESA as a national membership organization.

Some of you have been friends and partners in ESA from the beginning.

Others joined later, albeit years ago.

Still others have only recently discovered ESA.Walking and working together, we have been able to accomplish a lot over ESA’s 32 years. Glancing back, I mention a few of the highlights.

In the earlier years, as ESA worked to recover a more balanced embrace of evangelism and social ministry, the primary need was for increased evangelical engagement on social issues. ESA promoted that through a variety of conferences and publications–including my books, such as Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger and Good News, Good Works.

Over more than two decades, ESA

has taken the lead in a number of efforts to strengthen evangelical engagement on international issues of global awareness and social justice. ESA was a leader in the call for economic sanctions against South Africa’s apartheid regime. In the early ’80s, ESA endorsed the call for a bilateral,verifiable nuclear freeze.Through much of the ’80s, ESA worked extensively in support of peace, freedom, and justice in Central America, opposing both the States’ funding of the contras and the Sandinistas’ oppression. For a number of years, ESA provided the U.S. base for INFEMIT (The International Fellowship of Evangelical Mission Theologians, the most influential global network of progressive evangelicals) and INFEMIT’s ethics journal Transformation, which is the only international evangelical journal on social ethics. ESA also provided a base from which I served as the general secretary of a major eightyear global process called the Oxford Conference on Christian Faith and Economics, which in 1990 produced the influential Oxford Declaration on Christian Faith and Economics.

ESA took the lead in establishing (and providing the home for) the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN), the evangelical partner of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment (NRPE).The other partners were the National Council of Churches, the United States Catholic Conference, and a Jewish coalition.At a time when there was very little evangelical activity on environmental issues, ESA leaders developed vision for EEN and took the lead in its development. In January 1996, ESA and EEN together conducted a highly successful press conference and campaign to defend the Endangered Species Act. (Mainstream environmental activists have credited ESA/EEN with a major role in this successful defense of the Endangered Species Act.) In 2002-2003, EEN conducted its phenomenally successful “What Would Jesus Drive?”

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campaign. Today, 19 major evangelical organizations are members of EEN’s Program Council, and environmental concern is slowly becoming more mainstream in evangelical thinking.

Starting in the early 1990s (with funding from the Pew and Luce Foundations), ESA held a series of conferences, mentored several dozen doctoral scholars doing PhDs in public policy at America’s most prestigious universities, and produced over two dozen monographs on specific public policy issues.

Eventually, an approach to Christian thinking about public policy emerged (thanks in part to a three-year process funded by the Bauman Foundation) which produced two major volumes, one of which won book awards both from Christianity Today and the American Library Association’s Booklist Top Ten. Partly because of this, the National Association of Evangelicals named me to co-chair a major process to develop a new political philosophy to guide the political engagement of the NAE. ESA played a crucial role in making this process happen. In October 2004, the resulting document,“For the Health of the Nation:An Evangelical Call to Civic Engagement,” became the official framework for the political work of NAE, the official voice of 30 million evangelicals.

By the early ’90s, as evangelicals became more engaged on social issues, ESA began to sense a growing need to place greater emphasis on evangelism.

The result was the ESA-led Network 9:35, a network of national organizations, institutions, and local congregations focused on helping local churches strengthen their holistic ministry.

Network 9:35 has a website, videos, starter kits and second-level kits, books, and a range of other tools on holistic ministry. Both mainline and evangelical congregations contact Network 9:35 for help with developing or strengthening their holistic ministry. Network 9:35’s

focus on nurturing more effective holistic congregations has emerged as one of ESA’s central programs.

In 1993, at Chicago II (the 20th anniversary of The Chicago Declaration on Evangelical Social Concern), ESA launched PRISM magazine. It has grown to be recognized as an important voice of progressive evangelicals. And every week, ESA’s ePistle alerts a growing network to news, ideas, and important articles on public policy, holistic ministry, creation care, and Christianity and culture.

ESA does not pretend that we singlehandedly reshaped the evangelical world.

But it is certainly true that 30 or 40 years ago many (probably most) evangelical leaders thought that evangelism was their primary responsibility. Today, on the other hand, almost all evangelical leaders agree that both evangelism and social responsibility are central to faithful, biblical Christianity. ESA has been a persistent, vigorous voice promoting that change for 30 years. For whatever success ESA has had we truly thank God. For several years now, as ESA’s board reflected back on this history, we began to ask a key question about the future.

Since I was approaching age 65, we asked what the future would look like.

The board prayed and talked about how to strengthen and find a strong, permanent institutional home for ESA’s ongoing ministry.

Slowly, a vision emerged.We realized that although great progress had been made in helping evangelical leaders embrace holistic ministry, there was still a great deal to do in helping local congregations fully grasp and thoroughly integrate God’s concern for the poor, holistic ministry, and biblically balanced political engagement into their ongoing church life.The board felt that this task could best be carried on in conjunction with an evangelical theological school.

ESA had a long association with Eastern Seminary in Philadelphia, where

I had been a faculty member since 1978 and where ESA’s offices had been located since 1990. Throughout its entire history, Eastern had been committed to holistic ministry. Its motto was “The Whole Gospel for the Whole World through Whole Persons.” Eastern’s open evangelical stance and holistic vision fit very well with ESA’s evangelical commitment and ecumenical engagement.

And the seminary was a part of Eastern University,whose vision was to be the leading progressive evangelical university on the East Coast.

A conversation began–and led eventually to Eastern Seminary deciding to establish a center called the Sider Center on Ministry and Public Policy and inviting ESA to associate with the new center. A lot of study and prayer led to the ESA board’s decision to accept this offer.

Both institutions had the same evangelical, holistic vision. Eastern Seminary, as the theological school of Eastern University, offered a large institutional home that would provide a strong base for ESA’s ongoing work long after I retired (relax–or spit tacks–I do not intend to do that for a number of years!).

ESA will continue as a membership organization. ESA will continue to educate the church, promote holistic ministry in local churches and articulate a biblically balanced agenda for public policy. ESA’s educational communication activities will continue. In fact, we have already greatly strengthened the ePistle’s electronic communication. Network 9:35 will continue.

ESA’s public policy work will continue.

Just as in the past, annual memberships and the gifts of smaller and larger donors will make it possible for ESA to continue its work.

The location of ESA as part of the Sider Center, firmly established in a significant evangelical theological school and university, means not only that ESA has a strong, permanent home but also that it can both benefit from and conPRISM 2005

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tribute to the ongoing academic work of training future leaders and advancing understanding through research and writing.The practical, activist things that ESA learns through concrete work with local congregations and politics can feed back into the academic training of future leaders, and the cutting-edge knowledge of the university can inform ESA’s concrete, practical efforts to promote just, fair politics and holistic congregations.

I have a dream for ESA and the Sider Center–20 years from now when I am fully retired, observing and encouraging from my rocker.

I dream of ESA’s Network 9:35 enjoying an expanded set of tools and activities so it can work with hundreds of local congregations, helping them lead thousands of people to personal faith in Christ and transform their communities. I dream of ESA nurturing a large network of Christians committed to shape American politics so it is truly pro-poor and pro-family, pro-peace, procreation care and pro-life. I dream of effective popular communication tools and networks of scholar/activists visibly affecting what happens in national, state, and local politics. I dream of ESA having vastly more effective tools of communication to share this biblical message with an ever growing circle of committed Christian disciples/activists.

I dream of all of this seamlessly interconnected with the academic ministry of the seminary and university. I dream of graduate students in Christian Faith and Politics taking courses, earning degrees, and interning in ESA’s political work to gain practical experience.I dream of ESA’s Network 9:35 profoundly influencing seminary training so that a vast stream of seminary graduates pour into our congregations with a passion for and an understanding of how to build holistic congregations combining evangelism and social action. I dream of pastors taking sabbaticals at the Sider Center, refreshing their vision for holistic min-

istry, pondering more deeply about how to lead their congregations in faithful political engagement, and discovering how the concrete tools and activities of ESA can strengthen their pastoral work.

I dream of several joint appointments at the seminary and the university where persons teach half-time and work halftime in ESA’s programs on public policy and holistic ministry. In my life I have tried to combine the roles of scholar, activist, and popularizer. Not content just to teach and do research, I sought to write popular articles and books for a larger lay audience and organize movements to change church and society.

Most scholars should not do that. But some—more!—persons are needed who combine all three roles of scholar, activist, and popularizer. If scholars don’t write the popular books, others will do it— badly!—and mislead the church. (One need think only of Late Great Planet Earth or the Left Behind series.) So I dream of several joint appointments at the center, freeing up brilliant young evangelical scholars to spend half their time working in ESA programs, dreaming up new, brilliant tools, programs, and movements to more effectively change church and society. And yes, from my rocker, I

would like to go on encouraging and mentoring them!

The Sider Center at the seminary and university provides an excellent setting for realizing these dreams.A growing endowment fund can help bring these dreams to fruition.We already have raised over $1.3 million as a beginning.

A $1 million gift has established a Chair in Theology, Holistic Ministry, and Public Policy that enables me to teach half-time and serve as director of the Sider Center and president of ESA for the other half. (You can see why I would not want to retire for a while!) We already have two endowed graduate fellowships in holistic ministry and public policy that enable us to attract outstanding students who study here, work with ESA, help with research, catch ESA’s holistic vision, and prepare for doctoral studies and activist careers in church and society.

I dream of God sending the endowment funds for half a dozen more graduate students, for two or three joint faculty appointments for scholar/activist/ popularizers, for half a dozen sabbatical scholarships for pastors, for annual conferences on holistic ministry and biblical political engagement, for pastor/schol-

Faith, Reason & Justice, continued from page 28.

ars who lead highly successful holistic congregations and help teach and mentor future pastors, and for an annual young evangelical writer scholarship to nurture a new generation of evangelical writers committed to ESA’s biblical vision.

The financial base for ESA and the Sider Center will always be twofold: ongoing annual membership fees, sales, and donations on the one hand; and endowment funds on the other. The second will never replace the first. ESA members’ annual contributions will always be essential. But a sizeable endowment could supplement and strengthen our work.

That’s what I see as I look into the future and dream. I pray that God will give me the health and strength, as director of the center and president of ESA, to lead in this vision for a cluster of years.That includes substantially expanding the endowment. Then, from the rocker, I hope to mentor and encourage a younger generation of brilliant evangelical leaders, passionately committed to Christ and biblical truth and therefore dedicated to nurtur ing even more churches that love the whole person the way Jesus did and shaping society in a way that honors Christ our Lord. ■

throughout the United States. For them, the Sider Center is part of the solution to changing this trend, and both are proud and excited that their schools are a part of this latest addition to the progressive evangelical movement.

“My dream,” concludes Smith,“is that—arm in arm with the Sider Center—Eastern University and Eastern Baptist Seminary will be the recognized location for students from all over the world to study these principles and put them into practice, and that our motto—‘The Whole Gospel for the Whole World through Whole Persons’—will be maximized in our course offerings, our social activism, our influence on public policy, and our passion for justice.” ■

is whole, seven grace gifts are present. Someone sees what others don’t yet see and proclaims the gospel, someone manages the systems and infrastructure, someone teaches, someone provides support and social service, someone is skilled in making and giving away money, someone leads, and someone shows mercy.The curricula of the university and seminary could actually be placed into those seven categories. The Sider Center is a place where these seven are woven together holistically.These are what make the church effective.”

It is this holistic vision of the gospel—one that proclaims both the holiness and justice of God to both individuals and communities—that Smith and Black feel is missing in many academic institutions, churches, and theological discussions

A full-time Master of Divinity student at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Keith Wilburn also serves as an associate pastor at Circle of Hope N.W. in the Germantown section of Philadelphia.

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RON SIDER

Lots of Ways to Impact Politics

mons, Sunday school classes, and study groups, laying out the biblical foundations for economic and racial justice and teaching respect for the dignity and sanctity of human life—in short all the components of a biblically balanced agenda.

That does not mean that the pastor It is political season in America, and I hope or denominational leader should reguyou are involved. After all, one of the larly promote a specific political proposal ways we love our neighbor is to help or candidate for office. Instead church shape the political decisions that help or leaders should help their members develop a faithful approach to politics. They harm them.

But it is crucial that we understand should provide settings within the conthe many ways we shape politics beyond gregation where church members with voting for presidential candidates. Here diverse political views learn how to dialogue with civility, honesty, and humility. are nine ways: Just being the church. The first way They should encourage all their members Christians should influence politics is by to be active politically and nurture a few being a living model of Jesus’ dawning to devote themselves full time to politics.

Official church pronouncements. Church kingdom. Tom Skinner used to say that the church should be a little picture now leaders dare not make political pronounceof what heaven will be like. When the ments in the name of their church when church simply lives out a visible model of they speak only for themselves. But the transformed social, racial, and economic situation is quite different when the relations, it profoundly influences society. congregation or the denomination goes Prayer. Karl Barth once said that prayer through a careful process to develop an is the church’s most important contri- official congregational or denominational bution to political life. The Bible calls us position on a political issue.This should not be done hastily, nor should it be done to pray for our political leaders.

Shaping culture. To a great extent, broad constantly, but from time to time it is cultural assumptions determine what is important and right to do so. When that politically possible.Abraham Lincoln alleg- process produces a duly authorized stateedly told the clergy of his day that “the ment, then church leaders rightly speak church sets the boundaries within which to political leaders in the name of their politics has to function.” Christians help church. (As an example, the US Catholic shape the cultural norms in society first bishops did this effectively in the 1980s by their common life, then by their ideas, with their pastoral letters on peace and economic justice.) If done well, this kind writings, and artistic productions.

Educating church members to think bibli- of official church pronouncement can cally and wisely about politics. Unless church have a substantial political impact.

Educating the public on specific political leaders help their people develop a biblically informed way to think about issues. In political education, people seek political life, church members will sim- to inform a group of citizens (whether ply borrow their political values from church members or others) about parsecular sources. It is crucial that pastors ticular issues, the reasons for taking a and denominational leaders develop care- specific stand, the current state of the ful programs and excellent materials to political debate on the issues, and how help all their members embrace a faithful best to impact the outcome. Christians methodology for politics and a biblically may do this through denominational social balanced agenda. This would involve ser- action departments, parachurch organiPRISM 2008

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zations focused on political education, or secular public policy networks.

Lobbying elected officials. Here it is crucial that denominational social action agencies do this kind of work only when denominational structures have had a clear process and given concrete authorization for church agencies to speak in the name of the denomination. However, parachurch Christian organizations (and of course secular lobbying agencies) are better able to lobby politicians without politicizing the church.

Promoting the election of specific candidates.

In the United States, public law forbids congregations and other official church structures from endorsing specific political candidates. Normally church leaders should help educate their members on how to think and act publicly and then urge each individual member to prayerfully make his or her own decisions about specific candidates.

Running for political office. Congregations should encourage members with the interests and gifts to be candidates for political office. Caring church leaders and other members of the congregation should help Christian political candidates (and elected officials) to develop platforms that reflect a biblically balanced agenda, to think and speak honestly, and to retain integrity in public life.

We need far more effective structures for a loving, tough-minded process of both personal support and genuine accountability for Christians who embrace the difficult calling of public office.Without publicly endorsing a respected church member running for political office, a congregation can privately provide prayer, counsel, and a structure of accountability.

This election season, ask God in which of these ways he wants you to help shape politics. ■ (This column was adapted from Chapter 13 of The Scandal of Evangelical Politics, just out from Baker Books. Reproduced by permission.)